Book 1: Air
by Bast13
Summary: The A:TLA world is surprisingly dangerous for a new airbender from another world. Eira woke up falling from the sky and crashed into the Southern Water Tribe, will Eira be too scared to change anything, or change it to the point of no return? Rated T for mild violence.
1. Chapter 1- Falling Through the Air

**My attempt at a "Into the world of A:TLA" fanfiction.**

**As a disclaimer, I do not own Avatar the Last Airbender or any cannon characters mentioned in this fic. (But if I did I wouldn't be on this site…) But I do own Eira, that's something.**

**Anyway, please review and tell me what you think of this.**

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Chapter 1: Falling Through the Air

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The air felt humid and warm against her skin as she danced around in the art of Baguazhang, her feet softly falling on the green grass and her arms brushing against the foliage. Eira loved this room; she loved looking at her two koi fish, Yasu and Akira, and their white and orange scales glistening in the clear blue water, she loved to practice Baguazhang and mostly, she loved the heat.

She'd first heard about Baguazhang from some friends, who visited China; she hadn't exactly been excited about it at first but after watching Avatar and seeing Aang airbending and heard that airbending was based on Baguazhang, well, it convinced her to try.

Once she started she had fallen in love with it, the movements and the flexibility as well as the way it made her feel was amazing and it almost felt like she was actually airbending. She felt so free.

After one or two hours of practice she reached for her water bottle and bag to get a drink and fetch her phone.

"Eira!" She heard her mother call, "Do you want some cake, or a snack?" She poked her head through the door, ruining the atmosphere, letting all of the warm humid out of the room. Eira scowled slightly. The Zen garden she'd created was Eira's favourite place in the house but it needed the right atmosphere to be perfect...

"Sure, thanks mum." Eira reached up to hug her mother. Her mother gave her a tight squeeze and she left through the door.

"Eira, ask your sister if she wants cake too." She added, calling from the kitchen. Eira rolled her eyes, as if she needed to ask. Jenna loved cake, sweets, anything that had too much sugar really.

"Ok mum!" Eira called back, scowling slightly. Jenna was going to end up fat, maybe she could, maybe, not tell her sister. Eira sneaked back to her koi pond but thundering footsteps reaching up to the door told her that the beast had awoken.

"DID MUM JUST ASK IF I WANTED CAKE?!" yelled the ten year-old. She was bouncing on the balls of her feet and her dirty blonde braids bouncing along with her. Hyper was an understatement and sadly, it described her almost every day.

Eira sighed; it was obvious that her little sister was going to get what she wanted anyway.

"Yes." She huffed in disapproval. "Now leave me alone, I'm trying to concentrate."

Jenna made an over-exaggerated huff as she pouted.

"Now that's not very nice."

"I know, now please, go." Eira pointed to the door and her sister, smelling cake, left with an angry walk.

As the door closed Eira turned back to the koi pond.

"Finally, peace at last." She said under her breath as she reached for the fish food. Opening the bag she littered the food into the pond. She watch amusingly as the fish gobbled up the flakes of food but then… Eira noticed a glowing light at the bottom on the pond.

"What th-" She whispered as she reached her hand for it. It wasn't an optical illusion, it was actually glowing. She reached her hand into it, almost as if in a trance and everything span. The water started to suck on her hand and everything turned white. She couldn't scream or move and then her head rushed as if she was pitched forward.

When everything cleared she was falling from the sky. Well, oh crud! Adrenaline coursed through her veins and she saw the water approaching. The ocean was covered in ice bergs and Eira started to panic, water was as hard as concrete if hit from a great height.

She contorted her body into a dive as she hit the water and immediately the cold struck. The icy water drove the air from her lungs and the water stung her eyes. She started to sink down into the water as her eyesight turned black.

This is it; she thought this is how I'm going to die, drowning after falling from the sky… Her thoughts seemed to turn blank as the oxygen bubbled away from her body.

She vaguely felt a bump on her arm and a young feminine voice yelling but it sounded distorted and then, nothing.

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Katara was out on the ice when she saw it. Well, she was practicing her waterbending when Sokka was out fishing, but what was important was the fact that she saw a bright flash of light in the sky and then, suddenly, a figure falling out of it.

She gasped as she ran forwards, attempting to try waterbend a slope to save her but when she flowed the arms in the direction of the water but she only managed to create a tiny wave, she threw up her arms in frustration at her failing ability to control the water.

She looked up at the falling figure and her blue eyes widened in shock as she saw the figure point her body into a dive and hit the water, but Katara knew that the ice would render the person incapable of swimming to shore.

She waited to see the figure pop out of the water, but they were taking too long. They weren't coming up!

She ran over to the edge and summoned all of her will into her waterbending. She needed to summon a wave to float the person to the ice. She took a deep breath and took her stance. She focused on the movement of the water and slowly moved her arms into a waving motion and the water bent to her will. The water lifted and moved slowly towards her, lifting the figure towards her.

Katara could see now that the figure was a girl, around Sokka's age, with the oddest hair. It was pale and cream-ish but a lot yellower. She couldn't really describe it. She'd never seen hair like it.

She grabbed onto her arm and dragged her onto the ice and into her view. The girl was pretty, her oddly coloured hair was dragged into a high ponytail but it had been loosened by her fall, she had a straight nose and a thin face, her eyes looked big but they were closed. Her breathing was shallow and she was shivering. Her clothes were also weird, she wore a stripped yellow and white short-sleeved shirt of sorts and grey pants made of an odd, rough fabric. They were odd but they were too thin to keep her warm.

Motherly instincts kicking in, Katara pulled off her parka and wrapped it around the girl and her shivering started to subside. She needed to get her back to the tribe. But how, she was heavy despite her athletic figure and young age. She looked in the distance hopelessly, she couldn't carry her, but she had to try.

Hooping her arms under the girl's armpits, straining under her weight and shivering from the cold due to the lack of her parka, she started to drag her towards the Southern Water Tribe. Stepping carefully to avoid slipping on the ice

After getting within shouting distance of her village Katara yelled for some of the women near the gate to help her.

"Katara! Who's that?!" Yelled Uki, a woman whose husband was a great friend of her father, dropping her basket and running up to her with a worried expression on her face.

"Katara, who is this girl? What's with her hair?!" Katara brushed her off and motioned to the water, gasping from the strain of carrying the much heavier teen. Uki, seeing her strain, grabbed Eira and the two shared the weight between them and carried her back to the village.

When they approached the healing tent, they lay the girl carefully on the mattress and checked her over. Despite the blanket and Katara's coat she was shivering and on closer inspection she was covered in burns from the chunks of ice in the water.

Katara pointed to the corner of the tent and looked at Uki,

"Uki, cam you fetch me some wrapping from that basket over there?" Uki nodded her dark blue eyes full of concern and her thin mouth pulled into a frown as she reached for the sterile white bandages and passed them to the little healer.

Despite her young age of 14, Katara was an experienced medic. As she bound the burns and wrapped them up her face was hardened with stony determination. The girl she was treating occasionally groaned in pain when Katara touched the burns but Katara took that as a good sign, it meant she was alive and that meant that she should be waking up soon.

"Okay, hopefully that should be enough. Uki, tell Gran-Gran that we have someone here, I'll stay and look after her."

"Thank you Katara, good luck." She turned and left, leaving Katara alone with the pale-haired stranger.

"What IS with her hair?" Katara mused under her breath, transfixed on the pale hair.

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Eira woke up abruptly, eyes wide open and sitting straight up like a bolt and immediately regretting it. Her arms, hands and chest burned with pain as she moved and she bit her lip to suppress a yell.

Her mind flashed the images of what happened and she groaned. What had just happened? She remembered falling from the sky into freezing water, but how? Sure, the waters in Britain were cold but they didn't have freaking ice and glaciers!

Eira turned her head to see a girl next to her. She looked about a year younger than her with clear tanned skin, dark hair in a braid with two hair loops and bright, clear blue eyes. She was really pretty and except for their gender, they looked completely different. Eira had almost completely white skin that blushed far too easily, pale long hair that she usually kept in a high ponytail and dull blue eyes. But the girl did look familiar, like she'd seen her before but in a different way.

"Good to see you awake finally." She said in a sweet feminine voice.

"WH-Where am I?" Eira asked, stuttering as she just realised how cold she was.

"You're at the Southern Water Tribe." She paused, as if wondering what to say next. "Do you remember how you got here? How did you manage to fall out of the sky?"

The only thing she could remember about how she got here was touching some glowing water in her koi pond and then falling out of the sky and into the water. How was she going to explain that?!

She looked at her hands in her lap.

"I-I don't… I don't know how. All I remember is falling out of the sky and then waking up here." Eira looked up at the girl. "Who are you?"

"I'm Katara." And those two words sent Eira into a downwards spiral of confusion and crisis. Katara… Southern Water Tribe… This was the world of Avatar: The Last Airbender. And Eira was in it. Well, oh crap.

Katara's face flushed and she rushed to steady Eira, "Oh my La! Are you all right?!" Eira nodded despite not really meaning it.

"Please hit me." Eira said. This had to be a dream and apparently if someone punched you in a dream it woke you up. Katara recoiled in shock at the strange request.

"No, why would I hit you, you're already hurt."

"I know, it just… Maybe it could make me wake up." Tears started to well up in her eyes. The pain of her injuries was already an indicator of reality and it was shattering.

"Don't worry. You're going to be fine." Katara rubbed Eira's arm reassuringly. "Do you mind if you tell me your name."

"I'm Eira." She said, suddenly aware of how British and different she sounded compared to her.

"Eira, that's pretty. I'm going to talk to my brother now. Rest now, I'll come back later." She got up and started to open the tent door flap. She turned and gave Eira a reassuring smile but it was tinged with sadness and she left.

Eira turned on her side and closed her eyes, allowing her mind to wander off and go to sleep. Trying to convince herself that this was still a dream.

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**Well, hope you like this. Please review and tell me what you think about it so far. Say if you like where this is going or if you like Eira.  
****:D**


	2. Chapter 2- Why Me!

**Hello again! I'm back for another chapter.**

**Please tell me what you think and,**

**PLEASE REVIEW! = )**

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Chapter 2: Why me?!

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Eira woke up to hear people rushing and talking loudly outside. She stood up slowly due to pain and managed to walk over the tent entrance. She opened the tent and got blasted by the cold wind. After adjusting to the wind and cold she saw Katara and her brother, Sokka, coming out of another brown tent. It must be Aang! They'd found him already.

She walked out into the light and immediately sneezed violently, the contrast between the dark of the tent and the brilliant white light of the South Pole was enough to trigger her photoptarmosis (sun-sneezing). After enduring the sneezing fit she looked around to see everyone talking to Katara and Sokka about the 12 year-old they had seen slumped between their arms. Eira felt sorry for Katara, this was the second time in two days she found someone on the ice and had to drag them back to the village. But this time I guess was better for her seeing as Aang fell asleep and didn't pass out underwater like she did and she had Sokka and Appa to carry him.

Speaking of Appa he looked so cute. His big fluffy white and brown fur was thick, his big dark eyes looked wistfully at his sleeping friend and his large muzzle sniffed at the village.

Eira walked up to them slowly, taking in all of the information she could. She really wasn't dreaming. The cold, the ache of her injuries, the feel of the snow under her boots, it was all real.

Seeing her approach, Sokka turned to face her. His face contorted in anger.

"Who are you?!" He yelled, grabbing his spear and levelling it with her neck. "Are you Fire Nation? Are you a spy? Where are you from?!"

Eira gasped in shock, she couldn't speak. She had forgotten how suspicious Sokka was of everyone in season 1, but this was different. He could kill her right now, but she knew by looking at his eyes that he wouldn't. He still could abandon her in a world she couldn't survive in so the fear was still rational.

"I-I-I… I'm not Fire Nation. I'm f-from, uh…" WHAT COULD SHE SAY?! They wouldn't know of the UK at all and if she said it they'd think it was a Fire Nation place or something or that she was crazy. What could she say that wouldn't get her in trouble?

Sokka's eyes narrowed.

"So the liar confesses." He growled, steadying his spear. Behind him, Katara passed Aang onto a nearby woman and rushed over to help her.

"Sokka! Put down the spear! She's not Fire Nation." She cried, putting her gloved hand on the spear. Sokka's hate-filled eyes softened slightly at his sister's reassurance, they flickered to Katara but fixed back on Eira's face. He obviously still didn't trust her. She looked too much like Fire Nation.

"I'm going to check on Aang, don't do anything stupid Sokka." He looked offended at that comment but said nothing about it. He gave one last suspicious look towards Eira and left.

Well, that experience was… a thing. That happened. Eira was just left standing there in silence. She was off to a great start, one of the main characters already hated her and, based off her knowledge of the show, they would leave and she would be stuck in a world where she wasn't meant to exist.

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Katara was almost fuming as she approached the tent. Twice now her brother had been acting like an insensitive, suspicious jerk, once to Aang and then again to Eira. Aang was sweet and another bender, just like her! He could take her the Northern Water Tribe to learn water bending, couldn't Sokka see how much she wanted, no,_ needed_ to learn it. Her mother died to protect her and her gift and she wouldn't waste it.

Eira on the other hand was a different story. She looked like no-one she'd seen before. She had the tall, slim body and white skin of the Fire Nation but she also had big, innocent blue eyes that were the complete opposite. Katara had never heard an accent like hers or ever seen hair as pale or yellow as hers. She was a complete stranger but Katara couldn't help but like or trust her, and her dumb brother couldn't see that!

Taking a deep breath to calm herself, she went in the tent. Aang was sleeping on the mattress but, he was starting to twitch and shiver as if he was having a nightmare.

"Aang," She started, "Aang, wake up!" The Airbender sat bolt upright gasping for air. He looked around nervously as if unsure of his location. He looked so much like Eira when she woke up that she had to comfort him. "It's ok. We're in the village now." I rested my hand on his arm to reassure him and got up, a smile on my face. "Come on, get ready. Everyone's waiting to meet you." I pointed my thumb towards the outside of the tent.

He started to get up and put on his yellow tunic and short reddish coat and Katara's eyes widened. She began to focus on the blue tattoos on his body. They weren't just an arrow on his head like she'd first assumed, but a connecting ribbon of sorts all over his body. Arrows on his hands and feet, as well as the one on his forehead, all connected by streams of blue ink.

He pulled on his clothes and Katara realized that she was staring and averted her eyes. Once he was done she took a gloved hand and pulled him by the wrist out of the tent. He was grabbing his wooden staff when he was yanked back into the village centre.

Outside the tent Katara saw her brother sitting on the side of the tent, looking angrily at Aang while he sharpened his silvery boomerang menacingly and Eira standing awkwardly in the crowd, wearing a Water Tribe coat around her other clothes, her paleness standing out in a sea of dark hair and tanned skin.

"Aang, _this_ is the entire village." Pointing to the small collection of women and children in front of her in a cheery tone to mask the slight sadness she felt at the lack of her father and his friends due to the war, then she pointed to Aang. "Entire village, Aang."

Aang bowed respectfully towards the village with Gran-Gran at the front of the crowd but they all cowered and retreated from him. Katara and Aang's faces fell, why were they retreating? Aang looked completely unthreatening. Katara felt Sokka's gaze from the tent and felt almost angry at him for being so angry.

Aang looked around uncomfortably at the villagers, looking at the children hug their mother's legs in fear. He turned to Katara.

"Uh, why are they all looking at me like that? Did Appa sneeze on me?" She didn't know. Aang was a young kid, why were they scared of him? He reached for this tunic and examined it carefully as Gran-Gran stepped out of the crowd to face the young Airbender.

"Well, no-one has seen an Airbender in a hundred years. We thought they were all extinct, until my granddaughter and grandson found you." Her voice full of suspicion and disbelief, Aang's face paled and his voice full of shock.

"Extinct?" His voice was small as if he didn't even believe he could be saying it, never mind hearing it. In the crowd she saw Eira looking carefully at the scene unfolding in front of her almost like it was familiar to her and for the first time a flicker of doubt revealed itself to Katara, why was she looking at us like that?

Katara looked at Aang and noted his confusion. Katara gestured at her grandmother.

"Aang, this is my grandmother."

"Call me Gran-Gran."

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Eira watched the whole thing carefully, they were talking and acting exactly like in the show, so far her presence hadn't changed much but that's what scared her. If everything stayed the same they would leave the South Pole soon and she would have to stay and then how would she get home.

Her eyes watered everything she thought of her mother and even her sister. Jenna was annoying sure, but she was also as sweet as the sugar she loved to eat and despite her arguments with her mother she loved her. Her chest stabbed with pain every time she thought of them.

Aang was showing off his glider to the village as she thought, with Sokka being smothered with snow as a small tower collapsed.

Aang was being surrounded by children as he played with his airbending and goofed off, this was all so stupidly familiar but it was in real life. But why was this happening to her? She was just a regular girl who liked Avatar.

Eira smirked seeing Aang with his tongue stuck to his staff and the little kids laughing as they tugged the staff away from them. At least it was a pleasant place to be right now.

As she was thinking she saw Sokka approach and she raised her guard, she knew he didn't trust her so who knew what he was about to do.

He stood in front of her, his boomerang at his side.

"You never answered my questions." He said bluntly.

Eira looked up at him with cold, hard eyes.

"Why? Did I need to?" She said, venom dripping from her words.

"Yes!" He exclaimed, "You're in my village, you answer my questions. I need to know if you're a threat to my sister and family." He locked eyes with her and they had a silent battle of wits. Eira softened her gaze.

"My name is Eira…" She paused to think about the next part of her answer. "And…I don't know where I'm from." She lied. It was better to not tell him about where she was from or anyone for the matter. She stood up and left to the tent, her chest aching from her homesickness and tears slowly falling down her cheeks as she cried silently and allowed her bottled up emotions to finally get out.


	3. Chapter 3- We Boobied into That

**OH MY GOSH! HAVE YOU SEEN THE KORRA FINALE?! If you haven't I won't spoil it but, OH MY GOSH!**

**Anyway, third chapter and I'm sorry it's taking so long for it to get to the good bit but it should start soon. This may be a short one.**

**Please tell me if you like it and, as always,**

**Please Review! =)**

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Chapter 3:We Boobied Into That

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"Eira?" Eira turned to face the entrance to the tent and saw Katara and Aang. "We're going penguin sledding, do you want to come with us?" Eira's mind instantly thought to reject the idea and stay inside the tent and mourn over her family but then she thought against that. She needed some fun in her life, something to distract her.

"Okay, if you don't want to its fine." Katara began to turn away but Eira reached out to stop her.

"No, no. I'll come with you guys." Eira leapt up and even smiled a bit as she saw the smiles on their faces. "As long as you teach me how."

Minutes later she was on the back on a six-armed penguin laughing her head off as she, Katara and Aang slid down the ice and snow, surfing through tunnels of blue ice and down snowy hills. They laughed even harder when they found out that she had impossibly bad balance and couldn't stay on the penguin to save her life.

"It's been ages since I've had so much fun, even if I'm awful at penguin sledding." Eira laughed as she lay in the snow after falling off for the millionth time. Aang hopped off his penguin, using airbending to steady his leap, and grinned at her, offering a hand to pull her up.

He clasped his hands together and mocked a sensei, "Don't worry, it just takes practice. In time you will become a penguin sledding master, my young pupil." Eira laughed again.

"I'll remember to put that on my résumé." Seeing the confused look on their faces she remembered that they didn't know what that was. This would take some getting used to. "Don't worry, just something I made up." She mumbled in explanation. They seemed to take it and continued to watch and play with the penguins.

After a while they got to the ship. It was half covered in ice and made of dark steel. It had a giant, jagged point at the end with towers pointing out of it. A weathered, faded red flag flew from a tall pole with a black insignia emblazoned on it. It was the Fire Navy Ship.

She'd seen it on the show before but the show failed to capture the sadness and fear it radiated. All the joy they'd felt on the penguins and the snowy plains died. They all looked up at the ship, Aang looking shocked and slightly awed, Katara looking sickened and Eira looking at the ship with sadness.

"Whoah! What is THAT?!" He yelled in awe at the giant ship. Katara looked up in disgust.

"It's a Fire Navy ship." Her tone was dark and hardened. "And a very _bad_ memory for my people."

But Aang, not discouraged, ran ahead towards the ship. Eira reached out her hand to stop him.

"No Aang, you shouldn't." She looked to Katara with saddened eyes. "If it's from the war it is probably dangerous, right?" Katara nodded.

"We're not allowed in there." Aang used his airbending to get Eira to let go and smiled.

"You want to be a bender right? If you want to be one, you have to let go of fear." That seemed to get Katara's vote and they all began to approach the ship cautiously.

Allowing its vastness sink in as the got closer. It towered over them, covering the trio in its shadow. Aang helping the two teens up the steep, tall ice formations they all got to a huge, jagged hole in the hull.

"After you ladies." He said in a pretend formal tone while he gestured to the hole, allowing Eira to jump in, followed by Katara and then Aang finally jumping down.

Inside they walked down the metal corridors and passed a small rectangle opening. Pipes and snow covering the walls and floor, the corridors were misty and covered in frozen up valves and dials and chains with hooks hung in rooms.

The silence was filled with the oppressive, angry atmosphere of the ship. Eira could almost see the soldiers charging through. Weapons in hand and bloodlust on her minds. Eira shivered at the evil thought.

Eira rubbed her arms to warm them from the chill of the ship. She looked up to see mice, or animals that looked like mice, scurry across the floor above them and down a rusty old ladder. In another room weapons of all sorts lay in piles or in tall containers. Spiked clubs, swords, all angry and reeking of death and misery. Aang stopped in that room.

Katara walked up and looked at the weapons with seething anger on her face. These weapons that were used to kill her people, if not a slow death of being burnt, gave her nothing but emptiness and anger.

"This ship has been haunting our tribe since Gran-Gran was a little girl. It was one of the first of the Fire Nation's attacks…" Bitterness filled her voice.

"Okay, back up! I have friends all over the world, even in the Fire Nation!" He reached down and picked up a Guan Dao, it's sharp, small blade covered in dust, mounted on top of a 1.5m long ornate pole with a golden base and red sash attached to it. He looked mystified at the sight of the weapon.

"…I've never seen any war." Eira looked uncomfortably at Aang.

"Aang… Do you know how long you were in that iceberg?" Aang shifted as if uncertain.

"I-I don't know… Uh, maybe a few days?"

"Aang, the war has lasted a hundred years from what I've heard, and since you haven't heard of it…"

Realisation dawned on his face.

"I was asleep for a hundred years." Eira nodded sadly. Katara reached out to hug the young Airbender.

"I'm so sorry Aang. At least you didn't age due to the ice. There's always a bright side, right?" She said sadly. He looked up at Katara and Eira.

"At least I got to meet you two." They two girls smiled at him.

"Come on Aang, let's get out of here. It's nothing but bad memories." Katara said, helping him up. They all walked back across the corridor but Aang tripped on nothing, or so it seemed. Eira looked down to see a thin wire, just as the barred door swung shut. They all grabbed the bars in a futile attempt to loosen them.

"What was that you said about booby traps?" Aang asked nervously.

They all heard a giant explosion outside.

"Oh no, that was a signal to the Fire Nation." Eira whispered. "If anyone is even near here, they'll be coming." Aang looked around for a way to get out and found a hole in the ceiling.

"Hold on." He said as he hooked his arms around Eira and Katara's waists. He steadied a jump and used his airbending to jump all the way out of it with the two girls letting out small screams. He jumped all the way down the ice formations and to the ice, jumping several feet each time, unknown to him that the banished Fire Nation prince had found them.

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**Please review and tell me what you think! :D**


	4. Chapter 4- Is This Goodbye?

**Welcome back and yay! I'm finally getting onto a good part, this chapter doesn't do a lot, it's mainly setting up the next one but still I hope it's enough.**

**Thanks to joyjoybunny20 and Chicken Detonator for adding this to your favourites, you're awesome!**

**Thanks also go to Crazycatwin, CrossingtheDelaware, bricksandsilver and Chicken Detonator for following this as well**

**Please review!**

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Chapter 4: Is this Goodbye?

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They all walked back to the village, feeling slightly paranoid because of Eira's statement about the flare to signal the Fire Nation but when they got to the wall the little children ran up to Aang, hugging him and crying out joyfully,

"Aang's back, yay!" Eira couldn't help but smile at it. Aang was gifted when it came to children while she just felt awkward around them. The children were so happy and welcoming of them, or at least Aang, but the women in the crowd weren't quite so much.

Sokka stepped out of the crowd and he looked twice as angry as before.

"I knew it," he pointed an accusing finger at Aang and Eira. "You signaled the Fire Navy with that flare! You're leading them straight to us, aren't you?" Aang steeped in front of Eira protectively.

"It wasn't Eira's fault. There was a booby trap on the boat and," He rubbed his head sheepishly. "Well, we boobied into it."

Katara's grandmother stepped forward. "Katara, you knew that you shouldn't have gone on that ship! Now we could all be in danger!" Katara's face fell at her grandmother's reprimand. Aang looked sorrowfully at Katara, Eira and Kanna in turn.

"It wasn't their fault," He protested, then he looked down dejectedly. "I brought them there." That was a bad thing to say. Sokka turned incredibly angry, jabbing his finger at Aang.

"So the traitor confesses! Warriors, away from the enemy." The children looked up sadly Aang and then back at Sokka and sadly walked back to their mothers. "The foreigners are banished from our village!" He said, voice rising angrily.

"Sokka, you're making a mistake." Katara insisted, irritably clenching her fists, but she was only faced with the hard, cold eyes of her brother.

"No, I'm keeping my promise to dad." He said stubbornly. "I'm protecting you from threats like them." Pointing between Eira and Aang, Eira could feel her face burning up and flaring red from the accusations, darn her pale complexion.

"Aang and Eira aren't our enemies, can't you see that?" She turned to face them and then back to the villagers, her face softening. "Aang brought us something fun, he brought us a life more than just surviving and waiting out this war and Eira," She smiled reassuringly at Eira. "She's sweet, intelligent and unique."

"But we can't just have fun while the Fire Nation burns down our village and kill our families."

"True, but you also can't just waste your lives and do nothing until this war ends one way or another." Eira retorted.

"Just get out of our village, now!" He yelled in frustration.

Katara turned to her Grandmother, pleading with her blue eyes.

"Please Gran-Gran. Don't let Sokka do this, Eira still need to recover as does Aang."

"Katara, you knew going on that ship was dangerous and they seemed fine enough to lure you into danger like that. Sokka is right. I think it'd be best if those two leave." Kanna said gravely, obviously not wanting to upset her granddaughter.

Katara was outraged at her grandmother's approval of her brother.

"Fine!" She yelled. "Then I'm banished too." She threw up her arms in frustration and grabbed Aang and Eira, leading them to Appa. "Come on, let's go." She surprised the teen by grabbing her along with the Airbender. She'd assumed that she'd only want to take Aang with her as he was the only one with transportation and bending abilities. It made her a bit blurry eyed at the thought that Katara did like her. Eira had always liked how mature, kind and accepting she was in the show.

Eira looked back to see shock flash on Sokka's face.

"Where do you think _you're_ going Katara? You're family's back here." Katara flung around to face her brother, anger filling her expression and voice.

"I'm going to the North Pole to find a waterbender, I'm not going to waste the gift mum died for. Aang is going to take me there!" Sokka looked hurt as if the reference to their mother's death was a stab to the chest. His voice lost its anger and replaced it with sorrow.

"I am?"

"You would choose them over your tribe. You're family, you're friends. Just for a waterbending teacher and an Airbender and girl you've just met."

The shock caught up with Katara and her eyes welled up with tears. Eira reached out to hug her, then she held her at arm's length, a bit misty eyed. She hadn't expected to make such a close bond with her so quickly and she didn't want to leave, but she just couldn't let her come with her.

"Katara." She said softly. "We don't want to come between you and your family, I'm sure you can find a way to learn waterbending here." Looking at Katara's expression almost broke her heart. So much pain and sadness shouldn't be in just one person.

Aang and Eira looked at Katara with understanding.

"So this is it? This is good-bye?" The two foreigners' nodded but Aang, looking at Eira's bandages took his chance to protect her.

"Wait. Eira needs to stay, at least until she's fully healed. The Water Tribes have the best healers." Sokka, Katara and their grandmother exchanged looks.

"Fine, we will let the girl stay here until she's healed." Gran-Gran stated monotonely. Aang turned to hug the two girls. Eira was shocked, Aang cared so much that he would leave all by himself. It was weird, even though she had friends back home, she didn't have any really close friends and definitely none that would opt to be banished alone to help her. She grabbed the Airbender in a tight bear hug.

"Thank you Aang."

"Thanks for penguin sledding with me." He thanked sadly as he walked up to Appa.

He jumped up onto the airbison and grabbed the reigns. He looked wistfully at the villagers and waves slowly.

"It was nice meeting all of you."

Sokka crossed his arms angrily. Wow, Sokka was starting to annoy her with his overly-skeptical and suspicious attitude.

"Let's see your bison fly now air boy." He taunted skeptically. Aang ignored him and patted Appa's side.

"Come on Appa, you can do it. Yip yip!" And with a flick of the reigns Appa and nothing happened.

"Yeah, I thought so!" Eira almost growled at Sokka, why was he acting like such an asshole. Then a little girl ran out of the crowd to Aang, crying, but she was stopped by Katara.

"Aang, don't go. We'll miss you."

"I'll miss you too…" His eyes wandered to Katara's face. They both had the same sad/wistful expression on their faces, the orange sunset reflecting in their eyes and the wind gently waving her dark hair loopies around her face. Aang turned around slowly, to try and hide his emotion, and he flicked the reigns again.

"Come on boy…" Appa trudged in the snow, leaving deep footprints in the sand as Eira, Katara and the little girl watched as he vanished into the horizon. The little girl turned slowly and walked back to her mother as Kanna approached Katara.

"Katara." She started cautiously. "You will feel better so-" Katara spun around to face her grandmother.

"Are you happy now?!" She yelled angrily. "There goes my one chance at becoming a waterbender!" And she walked back without allowing any response and Eira was left to see Kanna's heart-broken face.

Eira wanted to comfort her but she knew it wasn't the time or the place, Kanna wouldn't accept her comfort.

She turned to see Sokka commanding all of the little boys or "warriors". They were all panicking so badly about the Fire Nation.

They had suffered through so much, why didn't the Fire Nation just see what they were doing to the world… Ozai probably still wouldn't care. He did burn his own son. Only now Eira could see how seeing the A:TLA world in real life was completely different than watching it on a TV screen.

Eira looked into the distance, hoping to see a glimpse of Aang or Appa, but to no avail. She then looked to the ocean where Zuko would be arriving with all of his Fire Nation soldiers.

"I really hope this doesn't go badly."


	5. Chapter 5- Protecting Him

**Thanks for staying with this, don't worry this isn't going to be another "OC going off with Zuko" fic, seriously this fandom has enough of them. True there are good ones (see Water: A Twist of Fate by Sapphire-Raindrop) but I'm sick of seeing them and I won't be doing that.**

**No offense to those who do write those stories.**

**I don't own Avatar: The Last Airbender, blah, blah, blah, you know this so let's get to it.**

**Please review and…**

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Chapter 5: Protecting Him

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Everyone was screaming and running around in the chaos of a potential Fire Nation attack and if Eira's knowledge was still relevant it was coming soon, but she didn't know exactly how much time until then.

She ran over to her tent, everyone avoiding her due to her foreigner status and she grabbed some stuff and a satchel. Just in case.

She packed some lightweight clothes, a thin dark and light blue kimono-like tunic and some dark trousers, and some minor drawing/writing materials, a stylus, paper and some ink, and some food and water canteen. If she had to leave after the attack, she'd be relatively prepared. Even though she'd never know how leave the South Pole.

She looked at her little roll mat and sighed. She never thought that she could be left for dead in the South Pole. She hated the cold and was quite bad at swimming in non-swimming pool waters.

She was staring at her satchel for ages when she was interrupted by Katara. She came in and Eira's head flicked towards her suddenly, so quickly that it must've looked suspicious.

"Sorry, was I interrupting you?" Eira blinked slowly and then her words registered.

"Oh no. No, no, I'm okay, I mean I-I…" She took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I was just. I was just thinking of home and what to do when they send me away after this attack."

"They're not going to banish you. I'll make sure of it, my brother's just an idiot, he'll come around."

"Thanks Katara but, I don't want to cause any conflicts. It's just not me. If they banish me, I'll leave peacefully"

"But… You're my friend and Aang's probably gone already. If you leave, I'll be alone." She looked down at Eira, then outside. "To be honest, it's been nice having a girl my own age around."

"Yeah, it's been nice. You've been great and so nice to me, but you should be getting ready. The Fire Nation should be arriving soon." Something flickered in her eyes. At first Eira couldn't tell why but then she remembered. She was revealing too much, they didn't know for sure that the Fire Nation was coming and she was talking as if she planned it or knew it. Crud.

"I mean, they could be arriving soon. Better safe than sorry, right?" Eira could feel her face burning bright red in her embarrassment.

Thankfully Katara seemed to understand as she left without appearing to distrust her too much.

She looked once more into her satchel and she looked to the corner of the tent, where her old clothes sat in a neat pile. She'd loved that outfit and despite the fact it was extra weight and she couldn't wear them while in this world, she had to pack them. Once she'd finished looking over her supplies and nodded in, slinging it over her shoulder and leaving the tent.

A low rumble echoed through the village and that was the warning, Eira ran to the wall and horror struck her. The villagers were gasping and stone still as it approached with deep booms and the rolls of the waves as it cut through the water.

It was bigger than the ship on the ice, well-oiled and dark. Smoke poured out from its funnels and its flag fluttered in the wind, bright and deadly. Not faded like the one on the ice. It's sharp, ice-cutting point split the ice, forming cracks and fissures in the ice.

And Sokka was standing right in front of it, and he wasn't moving!

"Sokka, get out of the way!" Katara yelled, also noting her brother's overly-macho behaviour. He still wasn't moving.

"Oh for the love of-" Eira sprinted over to Sokka and tackled him out of the way, just as the wall of snow and ice collapsed. She landed on top of him in the snow and he scowled at her, his weird black, white and blue face paint rubbing off in the snow. He got up, throwing Eira off him and into the snow, and chucked his boomerang into the side of the hull.

A pneumatic hiss let out as the metal boomerang made contact with the ship and the sharp point of the boat fell down to make a set of stairs. Everyone was silent. Fearing to even breathe in case it caused trouble. As it fell, Sokka scrambled out of the way to avoid being crushed, falling into the snow in front of it. Steam poured from the opening as the Fire Nation walked out.

Eira stared, still in the snow pile next to the makeshift staircase, as if her eyes were popping out. She watched in fascination as Zuko walked slowly down, flanked by two soldiers, with another four or five behind them. Zuko's pointed helmet in the shape of the Fire Nation emblem and the faceless masks of his lackeys intimidating the crowd before them.

Eira, suddenly realising her proximity to the danger, scrambled back up the slope so she was under the stairs but still able to see them. She should be hidden well enough.

Sokka charged them, weapon in hand, yelling out a war cry but his lack of training shone as Zuko kicked Sokka's weapon out of his hand and kicked him of the pathway and back into the snow.

Everyone gasped as the armed Fire Nation troops formed ranks and Zuko charged forward. He scanned the villagers in silence, looking from one face to another.

"Where are you hiding him?" He asked, relatively quietly but still loud in the vast silence and fear of the Southern Tribesmen. With no answer he looked around again, facing Katara and Kanna.

He reached out to grab Kanna by the hood and shook her in the direction of the crowd as Eira watched behind them, glad that she wasn't in the crowd. Her hair, lighter skin and the darker set of clothes she found would've stuck out and made her a target.

Seeing Zuko push Kanna around made her want to jump in but she managed to repress her urge to help. He wouldn't hurt her. Remember the show. He didn't do anything worse than intimidation.

"He'd be about this age, master of all the elements!" When no-one said anything, again, Zuko shoved Kanna back to Katara and in his frustration he lashed out with his arm, creating a whip of fire at the crowd.

Eira marvelled at his control. The fire didn't touch a single person despite his anger. Even though she'd been in this world for a while now she hadn't really seen bending except for airbending (the least visually impressive in her opinion) and she watched in wonder at the display of bending.

"I know you're hiding him!" He was yelling now, but then Sokka felt it was his time to attack, while yelling. He definitely needed some training in sneak attacks.

As he swung, Zuko ducked and flipped Sokka over. He landed as rolled as Zuko let out a blast of fire, dodging it successfully. Sokka rolled around in a circle and threw his reclaimed boomerang but Zuko dodged it, apparently not realising boomerangs came right back.

Now weaponless a boy from the crowd threw him a bone tipped spear. Sokka snatched it mid-air and charged again at the stationary Zuko. But this time Zuko was taking none of it. He slashed at the spear and it splintered and snapped in half. Zuko grabbed it out of Sokka's hand and snapped it again and hit Sokka in the head sending him flying back.

Okay, now Zuko had gone too far. He was hurting them now. As the boomerang came back and hit Zuko, leaving him distracted, Eira dashed out from her hiding place and reached out to punch Zuko, remembering her Baguazhang sessions but as she struck out to make contact a blast of air sent him flying.

His helmet came clean off and his scar and angry golden eyes were in full view. His scar was hideous, rough red angry skin that looked much worse against his pale skin.

Oh crap! Did she just airbend?! Leaving no time to let her think about her newfound powers, Zuko attacked.

He was fuming and unleashed more fire blasts and Eira managed to dodge them all, flipping backwards. She attempted more moves and found she was still airbending. Kicking and punching without being within punching and/or kicking distance was weird but as she did, blasts of air shot out at the prince.

The villagers cheered, allowing themselves to rejoice in the beating up of the Fire Nation prince, as Eira made her moves.

Being blasted by more air blasts Zuko let out a wave of fire to cancel it out. He made no more attempt at attacking and Eira kept her stance. The soldiers stayed back, but prepared to intervene if Zuko gave the order.

"You're the Airbender, aren't you? You're the Avatar." He accused pointing at Eira, confusion in his tone. "But you're a girl."

Eira was shocked and mentally smacked her head. She just airbent and the Avatar was an Airbender. Zuko must've put two and two together and assumed she was the one.

"So, how do you know the gender of the Avatar? No-one has seen the Avatar in a hundred years." Eira asked as she had actually wanted to know this since she saw the show. They seemed to _know _that the Avatar was a guy, but how? There didn't appear to be a pattern in the list of avatars.

That question seemed to get to Zuko as if he didn't know the answer himself.

"So you're the Avatar then?"

"Yes, I am." She blurted out and she wanted to hit herself. Why was she doing this? She wasn't the Avatar, Aang was. But if Zuko didn't know that, he wouldn't go after him. And if Zuko didn't go after Aang, he would be free to learn the other elements faster. Right?

"Eira?" Katara gasped.

"No way!" Sokka exclaimed as he stared at Eira in awe.

Zuko motioned for his soldiers to close in and attack.

"I've spent years training for this. Training, meditating and you're just a tee-"

"Stop!" They stopped advancing. "I'll go with you and I'll let you hand me over to the Fire Lord willingly,_ if_, you leave now and leave these people alone."

Everyone paused as Zuko thought. He looked around and seemed to come to a conclusion and he nodded his head.

The armoured soldiers came up behind her and grabbed her arms.

"No Eira, you don't have to do this!" Katara cried out, Sokka stopping her from advancing. Eira smiled at her reassuringly.

"Yes, I do. If you want, you could find Aang. He'd like to see you."

They walked her up the metal stairs and as they did, Eira looked back to see a flurry of snow and air. Aang! They needed to hurry before he arrived, otherwise her protection would be worthless and he would try to save her.

"Head a course to the Fire Nation." Zuko yelled. "I'm going home."

They pushed her down a metal corridor and with another pneumatic hiss, the staircase lifted to form the point of the boat and the outside world was blanked out. She was a Fire Nation prisoner now and there was no escape.

They threw her into a metal cell with a heavy door with a small, barred rectangle for the guards so that they could look in.

They had attached heavy metal chains to her wrists and ankles and inspected her bag for anything suspicious. They took her food and water, as well as her writing equipment and her old clothes from her world. The water and writing equipment made sense but why her old clothes? Maybe because they looked weird from their perspective? She didn't really know. Also Eira had just realised that she hadn't eaten for ages. And now it was starting to take effect.

After a few minutes Eira was bored, hungry and regretful. She'd made her plan to go along as a Fire Nation prisoner because she thought it would be protecting Aang, but now, in hindsight, it was a stupid plan.

They would find out she wasn't the Avatar and probably kill her.

If they didn't kill her they'd torture her.

If Katara and Sokka told Aang what had happened and what she was Aang would try and rescue her and be identified as the Avatar anyway.

If Zuko didn't follow the Avatar it's mess up the timeline as she knew it.

Hindsight is a bitch.

The time in the prison also gave her time to reflect on her newfound abilities. She was an Airbender. It was awesome and awful at the same time.

Air wasn't her favourite element, that would be water, but she still loved the idea of being an Airbender and since she knew Baguazhang it should be easy to learn the more offensive techniques as she did when she fought Zuko, but it'd mean that she was the only female Airbender and only one of two in the whole world.

To learn it, she'd have to travel with Aang, but he has the much more important task of learning the three other elements. He wouldn't have time to teach her. Also being the second Airbender meant that the continuity of this world will change, and it terrified Eira.

She'd always thought that entering a show would be cool, _if _everything she did didn't affect the long term. But now, she had no idea if whatever she did would lead them to the happy ending of defeating Ozai, or down a dark path of death, chaos, destruction and no more Earth Kingdom.

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**Thanks for reading and please tell me if you like where this could possibly be going, I would really appreciate the feedback.**

**Note: Eira's plan is so awful because she has the urge to protect people even if what she does doesn't really benefit the long-term. She thinks a bit too rashly. **


	6. Chapter 6- Saving Her

**Thanks for all of the support so far. Every follow, favourite and review does wonders. Love you guys! 3**

**This chapter will take place in Aang's P.O.V so I hope I got him right. He'll be cyked to find out there's another Airbender, just not so much when he finds out where she is.**

**Once again, love you all and please review!**

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Chapter 6: Saving her

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Aang was lying on a block of shaped ice while he moped. The cold of the ice bit into his back, freezing him but he was too sad and stubborn to care right then. He heard his fluffy buddy let out a low, sorrowed, groan.

Aang turned his head to face the Water tribe village wistfully.

"Yeah buddy, I miss them too. We can't go back." His memories turned to Katara's family, with their heart-broken faces and Eira's bandages and inner pain.

She tried to hide it but she was hurting, physically and emotionally. Falling into the freezing southern waters will do that and then the prospect of her being banished along with that.

Aang loved Katara and Eira was really kind. He didn't want to leave either of them behind but, it was better for them to be together than for him to be with them and hurt them.

Appa groaned again.

"We can't go back." Aang repeated sadly. He turned around again, not able to face the village anymore. He instead looked at the blank, white emptiness of the South Pole. It was depressing.

The South Pole never used to be like this. When he came here last there were crowds of people bustling around with cities and villages scattered around the entire of the South Pole. But now, there were only a dozen or so people.

He couldn't take it anymore. He needed to either leave or go back.

"Come on Appa, let's go." Aang jumped down and tried to get Appa out of the little ice formation. It was surprisingly hard to pull the giant air bison out and onto his twelve feet.

"Come on Appa." Aang grunted as he strained his muscles against the bison's weight. Finally the bison caved but then Aang saw what had passed as he had pulled the bison up.

It was a Fire Navy ship, like the one on the ice but fully operations, clean and heading straight towards the village.

"Oh no." He whispered under his breath.

He turned to Appa and reached for his staff. "You stay here, I'll go." He pointed to the ground under Appa so he got the gist. Making sure he wasn't following, Aang searched desperately for a penguin.

He focused on the six-flippered black and white creature in front of him. Bingo! He ran up to it and leaped, catching it just as it was preparing to slide away. Aang jumped on its back and it slid at high speed towards to village, but not fast enough.

Whipping up the air around him, he sent a blast behind him sending the penguin into turbo speed. They were approaching the village faster now but all Aang could think was, _Please let them be alright._

If they were hurt because of him, he wouldn't be able to forgive himself.

Swerving around the snow and ice he charged into the village centre where the villagers stood in a huddling crowd. Aang jumped off the penguin, staff in hand and prepared to tackle the Fire Nation soldiers. But no-one was there.

She turned and saw Katara and Sokka helping some women with their children and Aang ran up to them.

"Katara, Sokka!" He yelled as he approached. "Where is the Fire Nati-" Then he saw. Eira was missing. "Where's Eira?"

Katara reached out to hug him, tears in her eyes.

"They took her. She's the Avatar." Those words hit Aang. He recoiled in shock, memories of the monks telling him that he was the Avatar painfully clear in his mind.

"No, she can't be. We need to save her!" He yelled. His thoughts scrambling his mind as scenario after scenario played out.

He wasn't the avatar, she was lying, she was protecting him, there could be two avatars. All the possibilities but inside he knew he was the Avatar. He had to be. He remembered his dream of the avatar, Gyatso telling him.

That left the possibilities of there being two, which is impossible, and her lying.

"We need to save her, she isn't the Avatar."

"But she's an Airbender, just like you." Katara stated, confused about his lack of certainty.

"She's a what?!" Aang exclaimed. That was another shocker.

"She airbent to protect us from the soldiers, and they took her because of that so-"

"But I'm the Avatar!" Aang blurted out, he slammed a palm over his mouth. Katara and Sokka stared at him. Aang's gaze dropped. "She was lying to protect me… I'm the Avatar." He looked up to see Katara and Sokka staring at him, but in awe.

"Wow. You're the Avatar?" Katara exclaimed.

"Yes…"

"Wait, then they took Eira because she said she was the Avatar, but you are?" Sokka asked, thinking carefully about it.

"Yes."

"But when they find out she isn't the Avatar, they'll be even angrier. So she's in a crap-load of danger right now. They could get to the Fire Lord by the time they figure it out and then it'll be too late! We have to leave. NOW!"

The realisation shocked them, Aang whistled for Appa and he dragged them over to meet Appa halfway. Aang threw them up on the saddle using his airbending and used it again to propel himself up as well.

Grabbing hold of the reigns as he sat cross-legged on Appa's fluffy head, he flicked them.

"Appa, yip yip!" He commanded.

Slamming his tail into ground he soared up into the sky. Aang looked back to see Sokka whooping at the top of his lungs with an ear-to-ear smile on his face.

"He's flying! Katara look, he's flyi-" He saw his sister's "I-told-you-so" face and stopped. He sat down and tried to appear nonchalant. "I mean, yeah, whatever. He's flying." Aang and Katara laughed at Sokka's failure to seem nonchalant. Aang locked his eyes with Katara's blue ones. She was so pretty.

Her kind face, her soft deep blue eyes. She was perfect. Aang caught himself staring and somehow managed to tear his gaze away from her and steeled his sights on the small black ship in the distance.

"I found it! Appa, to that ship!" Appa grunted in understanding and flew down to the ship in an increasing pace.

As they approached the ship, guards looked up and pointed at them. I guess giant flying fluffy airbison aren't exactly the best stealth machines.

As they got into landing distance Aang jumped down, whipping out his staff. He used airbending to blast the guards into the walls and to blast open the door.

"Wait there!" He yelled up to Appa, Katara and Sokka as he ran to the metal door and ran through it, hoping they heard him.

Blasting guards out of his way he found a locked door at the end. That must be it! He tugged at the valve lock and spun it open. But inside was a bed, twin swords over an altar with candles and Fire Nation banners everywhere.

"Where is Ei-" Aang was interrupted when behind him he heard the door shut. Crud. Aang spun around to see a teenager with a mostly bald head but with a small black ponytail. A hideous red scar covered half his face and his eyes were golden but furious.

"Who are you?!" He yelled as he set himself into a fire bending stance. Aang steeled himself.

"Eira's friend, tell me where you're keeping her." Zuko tensed and then he unleashed a huge fire blast. Aang dodged swiftly and struck the teen prince with a whip of air. Zuko was taken by surprise.

"There's another Airbender, but they're extinct!"

"No they're not." He unleashed another whip of air but this time Zuko dodged the he sent out another blast of fire. Aang cried out as the heat singed his clothing but thankfully he managed to get out of the way before it singed **him**.

He summoned an airball and scooted around the room, avoiding the whips of fire Zuko let out as he prepared a plan to get out. He spun around, tripping the firebender and grabbing a banner he attempted to tie him up.

"Where is Eira?!" Aang yelled again.

"I will not relinquish the Avatar!" He yelled again, burning the banner off. Fury was filling his entire being as he sent consecutive blast after blast as Aang kept trying to dodge them. Aang was on his last legs as he reached for his staff and he tried to summon his airbending into one last attempt. He threw the mattress at him.

Zuko was flattened by the mattress but as it fell, Aang hit it again and smashed it up into the ceiling. Aang's chest was heaving as he saw the unconscious teen on the mattress. The adrenaline from the fight was coursing through his veins and his heart felt like it was in his throat.

But he still needed to find Eira. He'd already searched this floor, so now he needed to check below deck, but did he have time. His adrenaline could only take him so far and he'll tire out soon.

He ran back to the deck and down some stairs but he was being faced with ten guards. Great! That must mean Eira's close!

Aang sucked in some air and blew them into each other against the walls. Their armour bashed against each other and some of their masks and helmets were knocked askew.

Guilt stabbed Aang. He was intentionally fighting and beating up people. It went against all that he was taught. He had to clear these thoughts, he needed to find Eira. It was in for the greater good.

He saw the door, heavily reinforced, metal and barred. He looked through the small opening with bars and saw Eira sitting in the corner, chained and quite bored-looking. Once she saw him she looked almost upset.

"Aang!" She hissed quietly. "What the heck are you doing here? You should be heading to the North Pole."

"I couldn't leave you here…" He paused. "I know you're not the avatar." Eira sighed, and then she looked at Aang.

"I know you are. It's just, the Fire Nation came looking for you and they were about to hear Sokka and… I just, thought that I could protect you." She confessed, looking so much like a big sister if Aang ever had one.

"You don't need to protect me, now let's get you out of here!" He tugged at the door and grunted as he put all of his strength into it, but still it didn't budge.

"Can you airbend you open somehow?" Eira called from her cell.

"No, it's too heavy for that." Aang called back. "If only I could firebend." He added wistfully.

"Can't you? You're the avatar. Can't you just try the avatar state?" Aang shook his head. He was asleep for a hundred years and he spent none of that time training.

"I think we need the key." Aang admitted.

"Then we're finished." She paused. "Aang, you should leave." Aang was shocked at even the suggestion.

"No, I can't. I want to take you to the air temples. There are cool airbending things to do there. I can find a key." He insisted. No way was he leaving her again.

They both heard noises coming from outside and the guards Aang had knocked out were stirring.

"Aang, go. If you're found here, you'll be overwhelmed. You can go back to Sokka and Katara, learn the other elements. While I'm here, you're safe. They won't follow you."

"But _you're _not safe. When they find out you're not the ava-"

"I know, they'll probably kill me, but I swear to you. I'll get out before that happens." She got up and walked over to the barred window. "I'll be fine."

Tears were welling up in her light blue eyes and they twinkled in the light through the window.

"Tell Katara I miss her, and tell Sokka I miss him too despite his bad first, second and third impressions." She took and deep breath and blew, her new skill sending him down the corridor. The voices were getting louder now as Aang ran down the corridor, sprinting as fast as his airbending would let him.

He ran past several people and took out his glider. Flicking the glider out into its full form and leaped onto the winds. He flew high but at the last second a guard jumped and grabbed his leg, weighing him down. They both fell like stones onto the ship's hard metal deck. Aang turned to see Zuko approach him with an odd smile on his face.

"Rescue attempt failed?" He taunted as he prepared a strike. Aang rolled narrowly avoiding the attack. He jumped up and saw Appa approach. He smiled happily and grabbed his glider.

Zuko looked up in confusion.

"What is that?" He asked as the bison came closer.

"Appa!" Aang exclaimed. He twirled his staff to redirect some fire sent at him and he opened it and jumped so he could fly off to Appa, dodging some more fire. But one hit him. Fire scorched his arms as he raised them to protect his face and the heat drive the air out of him as he fell backwards and into the dark icy waters below.

Memories flooded his mind as water flooded his lungs. The last time he drowned. A familiar power flowed through him. He remembered waking up in Katara's arms. He could almost hear her yelling right now. She was calling his name.

"Aang!" Wait did he hear that, or just imagine it.

"Aang!" It was louder now.

"AANG!" It _was_ Katara. Aang's eyes snapped open and everything went white.

He remembered power flowing through him, like water. Small fiery shapes appeared and he spun at them dousing them with water. Sounds and images blurred together as Aang felt himself let go. It was like a thousand people working in unison, lending their strength to him. Once all of the fiery shapes vanished as did the power and Aang came crashing down, back to his body in a daze. He felt his knees buckle and him sinking to the ground.

"Aang!" He heard Katara cry out as she ran over to him. "Are you okay?" Aang opened his eyes to see Katara and Sokka holding him. His eyes focused on Katara.

"Hey Katara…" He said weakly, his voice barely more than a whisper. "Hey Sokka... Thanks for coming…"

"Well I couldn't let you have all the glory." He looked around. "Hey, where's Eira?"

"She… She can't…." Katara and Sokka looked at him, crest-fallen.

"But we can still get her, right?" As if to answer his question, Zuko got up and sent a fireball into their general direction. Katara quickly used the leftover water in the deck to send him flying into the water.

Sokka and Katara loaded Aang onto Appa and then climbed on after him, Sokka pulling Katara onto the saddle. They watched as the guards woke up, grabbing their spears.

"We have to get out of here!" Sokka yelled. "Appa, yip yip!"

Katara used the water again to blast them back as Aang flicked the reigns. Appa flew up into the sky as they dodged fireball after fireball.

"I'm just a guy with a boomerang, I didn't ask for all this fire, flying or magic." He complained as a fireball flew over his head.

They soared over the water with Aang sending a huge slash of air towards two huge fireblasts. It hit the side of the ice and it caused an avalanche onto the ship. Aang gasped, he was worried he could've hit Eira but thankfully it only hit the front.

As they flew away and the ship grew smaller in the distance tensions rose as the all remembered what they'd came there to do.

"Why couldn't you save her?" Katara asked in a soft, sad voice.

"She was chained and, and I." His knuckles turned white as his gripped the reigns. "And I failed her..." Katara embraced him in a hug as their hopelessness settled in the air.

"She misses you."

* * *

**Wow this was long. I hope I did alright with this. I'm especially iffy about how I did Aang. **

**I hope you like, thanks for the reviews, favourites and follows. You people are awesome! 3**


	7. Chapter 7- Aftermath

**I still can't believe so many people are reading this story. It's amazing that so many people have seen this and I appreciate every single view. Love you guys soooooo much!**

**This chapter will be switching P.O.V's quite a bit due to the fact that the episode did that and all of them will be important for later chapters.**

**Please review and I hope you enjoy. 3**

* * *

Chapter 7: Aftermath

* * *

After she sent Aang flying down the corridor Eira just began to cry. She couldn't help it, after Aang came back her homesickness and her fun time with Aang and Katara flooded her mind. When she got captured she was slightly glad that she wouldn't be seeing them again.

She got along with them too well and they reminded her too much of her family. It just told her that either way, if she went back home or stayed in this world forever she'd be heart-broken. At least with the Fire Nation she wouldn't be making any friends to miss if she went back home. But that was a big **IF**.

She sat down, her head resting on her knees as small tears streaked down her cheeks. Inside she knew that she needed to stop showing weakness but she couldn't help it. Nothing could distract from the fact that she'd potentially caused harm for her friends and she was a prisoner.

Her mum. Her Dad. Jenna. How were they taking it? They loved her and they'd all go into a frenzy trying to find her but, whatever brought her here, was it all taking place on the same timescale as her own world? Were they suffering for the same time she was? Longer? Shorter?

Outside she heard her guards starting to stand up, they knocked on her door and she saw a man's cold, dark eyes peer in, his face blocking out the little light she had.

Eira looked up at him, trying to silence her crying.

"I'm still here if you're wondering." She called out, just loud enough for him to here. His eyes narrowed in suspicion but he seemed to understand that her chains and the door were still locked.

He turned away, letting the small amount of light to come back in again. Eira began to sneeze violently again as she stared at the light.

This was a normal inconvenience for her but she hadn't expected to be propelled backwards against her cell walls. She slammed her back painfully against the hard metal and groaned in pain. That must've come from her airbending.

As she had thought before, airbending was the least visually impressive but it sure made a huge impression on her life. Airbending affected almost everything thing now, from her sneezing to the way she moved to the way she felt.

Ever since she had discovered the talent she had felt a yearning to be free, like a little ache or buzz in the back of her mind. Having these chains on and being in a cell sent it on overdrive. Bending was incredible in the way it shaped a person. Back home Eira was content and tranquil but here she felt the need to explore and travel. It was… odd.

Her thoughts were quickly interrupted as the ship lurched forward and she was thrown forward. She managed to shove her hands in front of her and slow her collision using some last second airbending.

She landed on her feet and she looked around. _What the heck was that?_ She looked through the little window and saw another soldier calling for the guards. The two in front of her cell looked to each other and nodded in understanding, one leaving the other to guard Eira.

Eira tried to look around to find out what was happening. She guessed that any questions she asked her guard would be easily and quickly shot down so she couldn't ask him about what was happening.

Another lurch of the ship and she was knocked off her feet. _WHAT WAS HAPPENING UP THERE!_ Eira consulted her knowledge of the first couple of episodes and remembered a fight between Aang and the people on Zuko's ship, he fell into the water and he went into the avatar sta-… Her thoughts trailed off. HE WAS IN THE AVATAR STATE!

"No, no, no, no!" She stuttered in panic. If they saw Aang in the avatar state her plan would fail even if he got away. They would go after him and she would… They would kill her. If not now, later.

"AANG! AANG! GET AWAY!" She yelled at the top of her lungs, grabbing the bars and punching them as hard as he could, trying to power them up with airbending. More punches and the door was starting to dent. "AANG! GET AWAY!" The guard sent a blast of fire through the window forcing Eira to get away.

"Be quiet now, or I'll make you quiet." The guard growled in annoyance. Eira growled back, actual growling. (She learnt how to growl when learning how to train her old cat. Turns out they respond to it better than shouting.) The guard was taken aback. Not knowing how to react he just slammed his fist into the door.

She looked up at the ceiling and more shakes sounded out through the hull until a huge crashing sound started to deafen her and it caused so many tremors she was knocked around her cell forcefully and eventually slammed her head against the floor causing her to black out.

_A beautiful woman and tall handsome man were looking at her. They looked faded as if not actually there. The saw her and looked at her with expectant hope, they made Eira feel uncomfortable as their lips moved as if talking but no sound came out._

"_I can't hear you." Eira said. They looked at her with disappointment, shaking their heads. What had she done to disappoint them? Who were they? "Who are you?" They shook their heads and turned away from her. "Wait! Don't leave." She reached out her hand to touch them but the disappeared into wind and shot at her. They were tearing her apart. Striking her and pulling at her. Eira flailed trying to ward them off but it was impossible._

_Hopeless tears fell from her eyes as they began to destroy her. Eora sobbed as she felt herself descend into darkness, never feeling so defeated in her life._

Eira woke up sprawled on her cell floor with her cheeks wet from crying. As the light flickered she screamed, remembering the pain of those wind spirits tearing her apart. She sat up and looked to the window of the door.

A guard was talking to another guard outside with the occasional look to her. Eira tried to listen to them but their words were gibberish. She'd never experienced anything like that before. What was happening to her?

* * *

Aang was happily tightening the reigns on Appa's horn as Katara sat on his saddle loading their things. Sokka was below them sleeping in his sleeping bag but Aang was too busy telling Katara about his home to care much.

"Wait 'till you see it, Katara! The Air Temple is one of the most beautiful places in the world!" He just couldn't wait to show them. Eira would love to see the air temples… Aang was stopped in his tracks as he remembered. Eira couldn't come. She was still with the Fire Nation.

They had spent the night here feeling awful about it. He had seen her, talked to her even, but he failed to rescue her. He was right there at the door, staring into her eyes but he still failed.

Right now he was trying to distract himself by focussing on showing Sokka and Katara the Southern Air Temple where he grew up. He couldn't wait to see everyone!

He looked over at Katara who didn't look nearly excited enough, she was just staring at the orange sunrise blankly.

"Aang, I know you're excited." She began as she turned to face him. "But it's been a hundred years since you've been home." Aang couldn't see the problem. He just smiled widely.

"That's why I'm so excited. I can't wait to see what's happened!"

"It's just that ... a lot can change in all that time." She said softly. Why was she speaking like that? It wasn't like anything bad could've happened. Only airbenders could reach the Air Temples.

"I know. I want to see it for myself." He couldn't wait to see how the Temples have grown. More people, bison and lemurs for him to see.

He hopped down, using airbending to slow his fall and he walked over to Sokka who was still snoring, not that Aang could say anything. His snoring was turbo-charged.

"Wake up Sokka! Air Temple here we come!" He said cheerfully to the groggy, sleepy Sokka.

"Uggh! Sleep now, temple later." He grunted sleepily. He turned around to go back to sleep and Aang had a brilliant thought. He grinned mischievously as he grabbed a stick. He ran it across his sleeping back and yelled as if in panic.

"Sokka! Wake up! There's a prickle snake in your sleeping bag!" Sokka opened his eyes in alarm and began to hop around in fear. Yelling as he hopped in circles and fell on his face.

On Appa, Katara giggle prettily at Sokka's angry, undignified face. She was so beautiful and nice.

"Great! You're awake! Let's go!" Aang was rewarded with another giggle from Katara as he jumped on Appa and waited for Sokka to slowly climb his way onto the saddle.

* * *

Zuko was furious. The girl had deceived her and now his ship was half destroyed.

He turned to his uncle and told him to check on the soldiers as he turned to visit his captured "avatar". He felt his body heat up in embarrassment and anger as he remembered how easily that boy had charged through his ship and defeated his men.

He charged down the stairs to the prison hold, his men turning to stand at attention as he walked past. They knew by now after three years of being around the banished prince that if something went wrong it was a good idea to stay out of the way and this was a big failure for the prince.

As Zuko walked over to the door her turned to the guard.

"Open the door!" he commanded angrily. A guard quickly obeyed, fumbling with his keys to open it as quickly as possible. The second the door was unlocked Zuko stormed in.

Inside the girl flinched in shock at the rude interruption, turning to face him sharply, her blue eyes wide open but shadowed and dark. Her fear of him gave him a slight amusement. He let his hands coat themselves in fire and he let out a blast right next to her.

"Who are you?!" he shouted furiously. She looked downright terrified of him as she stared at the scorch mark where his fire blast had landed. "Tell me or the next one will not miss!"

"I-I'm E-Eira." She stuttered pathetically. His eyes narrowed at her. That name sounded false, he'd never heard of a name like that and her voice also sounded foreign. Maybe it was an odd water tribe accent.

"Then, _Eira_," He started. "Tell me where you came from and how you know the Avatar!"

Her blue eyes turned cold as she answered. He didn't like it.

"I don't exactly know where I come from right now and I didn't know that kid was the Avatar if that's who you mean." She was lying. He'd been around liars all his life and she fit the bill.

He raised his hand menacingly and she flinched.

"TELL ME!" She looked at the fire aimed at her and looked a lot less cocky now.

"Well, if you want to know I'm from Wales but you won't know where that is and Aang is my friend." He stepped back in confusion. _Whales, aren't they a sub-type of animal? Where was that? _His confusion seemed to be enough for her.

"Told you. You don't know where that is." She admitted. Zuko was left speechless. She was acting far too calm for someone who was terrified just a minute ago! Zuko went up to her and grabbed her arm and started to heat it up. She cried out in pain as he started to burn her.

"If he's your friend then, you will lead me to him, or else." He let go of her arm to see a small burn on it. He turned to leave but not before setting his hands on fire again. He had to fix this ship first, and then capture the Avatar and she was going to help him do it.

After they found a harbour, Zuko found his Uncle and ordered his men to fix the ship. His uncle was just rambling on about tea again as they walked down to the port.

"Uncle, I want the repairs to be made as quickly as possible. I don't want to stay too long and risk losing his trail." He said grumpily. He was annoyed how he could've been thrown for a loop by a girl who was in chains in a cell and defeated by a twelve year old kid in a fight.

At least the airbender will be able to help him find the Avatar. She'll help find him or lure him to his capture.

"You mean the Avatar." Zuko cringed internally. His uncle wasn't really the best one to bring for discretion.

"Uncle!" He snapped as he spun around to face his chubby uncle. His grey eyebrows shot up in surprise. "Don't mention his name on these docks!" He gestured to the people on the dock. "Once word gets out that he's alive, every firebender will be out looking for him, and I don't want anyone getting in the way!"

"Getting in the way of what, Prince Zuko?" Zuko snapped his attention to the voice and was found it was one of his least favourite people in the world. Captain Zhao. He walked up to them with his hideously smug smile and outrageous brown sideburns and topknot.

"Captain Zhao." Zuko stated with disgust.

"It's commander now." He corrected with a smirk. The _commander_ bowed respectfully to Zuko's uncle. "General Iroh. Great Hero of our nation." Iroh bowed back.

"_Retired_ General." He emphasized. Zhao looked back from Zuko to Iroh and tried to form a hospitable smile, but Zuko saw through it. He knew that he didn't like him.

"The Fire Lord's son and brother are welcome guests anytime. What brings you to my harbour?"

"Our ship is being repaired." Iroh answered as he gestured to the broken ship's dented metal and broken hull.

Zhao raised his eyebrow quizzically.

"That's quite a bit of damage." He turned to Zuko, waiting for an explanation.

"Yes." Zuko's eyes looked over to his Uncle as he thought of a believable reason. "You wouldn't believe what happened." He failed to. "Uncle! Tell Commander Zhao what happened." His uncle looked panicked as he tried to think about what to say.

"Yes. I will do that." He held up his hands enthusiastically. "It was incredible!" He looked over to his nephew. "What did we crash or something?" he asked out of the corner of his mouth. Zuko tensed uncomfortably.

"Yes. Uh, right into an Earth Kingdom ship."

Zhao looked at them in disbelief.

"Really? You must regale me with all of the thrilling details." He leaned down into Zuko's face and smirked. "Join me for a drink?" Zuko averted his gaze from the man's cruel face and began to walk away.

"Sorry, but we have to go." As he turned to leave he saw Zhao smile evilly at him but Iroh placed his hand on Zuko's shoulder to stop him. Zuko groaned internally, he hated Zhao and if he stayed in his presence for any longer, he would crack.

"Prince Zuko, show Commander Zhao your respect." He removed his hand from his nephew's shoulder and turned to bow to the Commander. "We would be honoured to join you. Do you have any ginseng tea? It's my favourite."

Zuko grunted in anger at Iroh's comment and let out a small arc of fire out of annoyance before he began to walk after them.

* * *

**Yeah, I'm not good with Zuko, but oh, my gosh, I hate Zhao. He's such a #&amp;%!**

**Please tell me what you thought!**


	8. Chapter 8- Is There Hope?

**To answer Kiyoky, yes the plot will change but there will be the fact that Eira will be scared to change things in case things change for the worse but overall she will be changing quite a bit.**

**And for Badwolf432, she will eventually be re-joining Team Avatar.**

**Now that's out of the way, please enjoy and review…**

* * *

Chapter 8: Is There Hope?

* * *

Her stomach growled angrily and Eira looked to the door wanting to ask desperately for some food or something that could help her. Her previous injuries still ached and the new burn on her arm was incredible painful.

She still couldn't believe that he burned her. Despite his intimidating nature and firebending, Eira couldn't see him as dangerous because of his Book 3 appearance, but that was a mistake. This Zuko was bitter and angry after three years at sea.

Her stomach growled again and this time she couldn't help it.

"Can I have some food?" She asked quietly to the soldiers. They mumbled something to each other quietly.

It was so frustrating. She was just a simple girl with simple needs also known as something called FOOD! "Please, I promise not to airbend. I can't even do it properly with these chains on." More mumbles.

She saw one leave and she raised her hopes slightly. Maybe they weren't heartless. After a while the door clicked open and a small bowl of rice was placed in front of the door.

Seeing the open door, Eira had to supress the urge to run out, ignore all of the risks and make a dash for freedom. But no, she had to stay still.

After the door was locked properly she reached for the rice. It wasn't the most filling meal ever but it was enough. "Thank you." She said to the guards. She couldn't see their reactions but for once she wished that she could.

Another soldier approached her guards and started to talk to them but this time she tried to listen properly.

"I am sent here from Commander Zhao. He requests that all information on your last three years of searching for the Avatar." She saw the soldier look into her cell.

"Hi." Eira greeted, waving and smiling just to see his reaction. The reaction was just as amusing as she expected, he flailed back in shock, his face a perfect picture. Eira smiled mischievously. If Commander Zhao was getting involved this was going to be _fun_(!)

* * *

"Hey where's my blubbered seal jerky?" Sokka asked as he rummaged through his small bag for his food. Aang turned to him guiltily.

"Oh. That was food?" He turned away to avoid looking at Sokka's disappointed face. "I used that to start the campfire last night." Aang thought it looked like weird wood. He wasn't used to seeing meat as food.

"You did what!" Sokka yelled in shock, and then he let out a longing groan. "No wonder the flames smelt so good." Aang smiled apologetically as Appa flew up over the clouds/

"Wow!" The water tribe siblings gasped as they saw the beautiful mountain ranges. Tall mossy mounds of earth and in the centre sat the Air Temple itself. A cylindrical white and blue tower stood in the centre with little houses and platforms dotted around it. The big gardens were grassy and green with grand bunches of flowers.

It was just as he remembered it, but he couldn't see anyone. No bison, no nomads and no lemurs. They were probably just eating or meditating inside.

"The Patola Mountain range! We're almost there!" Aang yelled excitedly. He looked back to Katara, who seemed uneasy for some reason.

"Aang, before we get to the temple, I want to talk to you about the airbenders." Awesome. He could tell her about Monk Gyatso or Airball.

"Sure, what about 'em?!" His cheeriness seemed to unease Katara even more, but he couldn't think why? Did she not like the heights or something?

"Well, I just want you to be prepared for what you might see. The Fire Nation is ruthless." She became sadder. "They killed my mother. They could've done the same to your people."

No. They couldn't have. They couldn't get there and no-one could wipe out an entire culture just like that.

"Just because no one has seen an airbender, doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them all. They probably escaped!" They definitely escaped. No-one can hold airbenders down. Katara placed a hand on her shoulder as if to comfort him.

He turned to face her cheerily.

"Just because no-one's seen an airbender doesn't mean the Fire Nation killed them, they must've escaped. I mean Eira's an airbender and she's alive."

"I know it's hard to accept."

"You don't understand Katara. The only way to get to the Air Temples is on a flying bison, and I don't think the Fire Nation have any flying bison." Katara looked at him sadly but Aang couldn't work out why, the airbenders were safe, Eira was proof, so why was she so sad?

As they got closer to the Air Temple Katara looked at it and the sadness melted from her face. Aang, happier now that Katara was happier, gestured to the temple proudly.

"There it is, the Southern Air Temple." Katara and Sokka both had ear-to-ear smiles as they marvelled at the beauty of the Temple.

"Aang. It's amazing!" She looked down at the gardens and towers with an amazing, white toothy smile. Aang patted Appa's head as he also smiled at the temple.

"We're home buddy. Where home."

* * *

"... and by the year's end, the Earth Kingdom capital will be under our rule. The Fire Lord will finally claim victory in this war." Zuko had just finished listening to a ten minute lecture about how Zhao is the best commander and would be getting promoted soon, how his father would reward him with half of the Earth Kingdom, etc.

By the end of it Zuko was ready to burn his sideburns off. His uncle was just sitting around, examining weapons, drinking tea and generally being useless when he could be helping on the ship by tracking the avatar or interrogating the prisoner.

Maybe a more friendly approach would help get some more information. She didn't seem to respond well to his intimidation tactics.

Anyway the last part about his father claiming victory hit him the wrong way.

"If my father thinks the rest of the world will follow him willingly, then he is a fool!" He said bitterly. He'd seen the anger people have towards the Fire Nation and unless he eliminated all who weren't Fire Nation, he would never claim victory.

Zhao smirked as he sat down in a chair near Zuko.

"I see three years at sea did little to temper your tongue." He looked evilly at Zuko. "How is your search for the avatar going?" Zuko's pulse quickened. Was it an 'I-already-know-the-answer' question? Knowing Zhao, it probably was but Zuko's only option was to lie. Just as he was about to answer, his uncle decided to tip the pile of spears he was examining.

They all turned to face him.

Uh… My fault, entirely." He tucked his arms into his sleeves and smiled nervously as he backed away.

"No. We haven't found him yet." He answered aggressively but monotonely.

"Well did you really expect to? The avatar died a hundred years ago." Zuko slanted his eyes from Zhao's face. "Unless," Zhao's face contorted into an evil smile. "You've found evidence otherwise."

Zuko turned his eyes to face him again.

"No. It's like you said. The avatar died a long time ago." Zuko stood up, knowing that if he stayed much longer he wouldn't be able to keep his information secret much longer.

"Uncle! We're going." He walked over to the exit but the guards took their weapons into an 'X' in front of Zuko, blocking the exit from him. A soldier ran into the room and turned to Zhao.

"Commander Zhao, we have interrogated the crew as you requested. They confirmed that Prince Zuko had fought the avatar but he escaped and he also has a female airbender in his custody. Apparently she tricked them into believing that she was the avatar." Behind him Zuko saw Zhao walk up to him and smile evilly.

"Now remind me, how exactly was your ship damaged?" Zuko cursed under his breath.

* * *

Eira was staring at a wall blankly when the soldier from Commander Zhao and another one came back. They talked with the soldiers again and surprisingly they went over to open the door. Eira stood up, just in case she needed to do something in defence.

The door creaked open and the two soldiers came in, one grabbing her arm and that caused her to panic. She flipped out and kicked him and blasted the other one into a wall.

Her guards charged in and Eira punched her chained arms in their direction and the air created sent them backwards. In her panic she ran out of her cell and up the ship to the deck. She looked around and saw that she was surrounded by Fire Navy battle ships. CACHU! * She thought.

She heard footsteps running up the stairs and she decided it was better to at least try and run.

The chains around her weighed her down but she barrelled down the ship onto the harbour, hoping that the shock of her running through would mean that they wouldn't react too quickly. She punched her arms in front of her and blasted soldiers out of her way so she could make a straight line to the mountains in front of her.

She felt a great heat behind her and moved swiftly to the side, the fire ball narrowly missing her as she ran. She jumped up a rock and another as she climbed the mountainside, occasionally ducking and running to the side to avoid the fireblasts.

"Stop her!" She heard a cruel, familiar voice shout. Her face flushed and she stopped in her tracks and, believe it or not, Commander Zhao was right behind her, flanked by soldiers, his face a scowl as he launched a fist of fire towards her, taking advantage of her shock.

It hit her square in the chest and she was forced back and she slammed into a boulder.

"_Cachu_…" She cursed through the pain. Her pile of injuries was starting to add up quickly. She looked up and rolled to dodge yet another blast. She reached out to kick them away but she was starting to feel weak.

All she managed to do was knock one guy back a bit.

"_Dw i'n casau chi, Zhao. Byddech chi'n marw yn y diwedd._" She taunted, and got some satisfaction seeing as he didn't understand.

His face flashed confusion but settled on anger.

"Take the airbender back to the hold. Make sure she doesn't escape this time!" He spat. His soldiers responded quickly to the command and they lifted her onto her feet roughly and dragged her back to the harbour, barely keeping conscious. Bending and being slammed against walls and boulders took a lot out of a person.

_Yep. Fun(!)_

* * *

Zuko watched angrily as Commander Zhao paced in front of him.

"So a twelve year-old boy bested you and your firbenders and you were outwitted by a fifteen year-old girl." He turned to face him. "You're even more pathetic than I thought."

"I underestimated them once, but it will _not_ happen again!" The teen growled furiously.

"No it will not. The capture of the avatar is too important to leave in a teenager's hand, as is the fate of the last airbender. They're mine now." Zuko was shocked beyond measure. He started to get up.

"Commander Zhao," He started, alarmed. "I've been hunting the avatar for two years and I-"

"And you failed!" He yelled. "You will not have another chance." He turned to his soldiers. "Keep them here." He turned to leave and as Zuko attempted to follow him the soldier grabbed his arms behind his back, stopping him from advancing. Zuko kicked over a table in his frustration, the tea cups on it smashing on the floor.

"More tea please." _Not now Uncle!_

* * *

Aang was wondering in awe around the statues. Every single one felt familiar and each one gave him different feelings and made him feel like a different person, as if those lives were surfacing in him. He brushed his hand against the dusty statues almost sadly. Everyone depicted in this room was dead and they were him.

He turned to a statue of a tall firebender with long hair, a topknot and long, flowing robes.

"Aang, snap out of it." He heard Katara say whilst gently tapping his shoulder. Aang shook himself out of his daze and focused on the statue.

"Who's that?" She asked as she too looked up at the statue.

"That's Avatar Roku, the avatar before me." They heard Sokka walk up behind them and also focus on the statue with distain.

"You were a firebender? No wonder I didn't trust you when we first met." Katara knelt down to the base of the statue, examining it.

"How do you know his name, there's no inscription here." Suddenly Aang wondered that too. How did he know? When he saw it a voice just told him it was Avatar Roku.

"I don't know." He admitted. "I just… feel like I know him. He was my past life, as were all of them." He gestured to the other statues. A shadow moved on the floor and the trio hid behind the statues quickly.

"Firebender. Don't make a sound." Sokka whispered as he fingered his machete. They all turned slowly to see what was making the shadow and to Aang's delight it was a lemur.

"Lemur!" Aang yelled cheerfully.

"Dinner!" Sokka moaned wistfully as he pounced on the lemur. The lemur ran away and Aang and Sokka gave chase with Katara following them.

"Come back!"

* * *

Zuko heard shouts coming from outside as well as yells of, "The airbender's escaped!"

_Typical Zhao. _Zuko thought bitterly. Airbenders were masters of evasion and escaping. Knowing the incompetence of many soldiers they probably removed her chains making it infinitely harder to re-capture her.

More shouting and the soldiers peeked their heads outside and they both tensed.

"What is going on out there?!" Zuko commanded angrily. They turned to face the prince nervously and looked to each other.

"The, um, airbender you had in custody has escaped. But half of the harbour is going after her." They hurried the last bit as if that was a proper explanation. After waiting for a while Zhao came back looking furious, his face beet red.

Seeing Zuko he attempted to calm himself.

"After I have secured a search party I will be out to sea. My guards will escort you back to your ship and you will be free to go."

"Why? Aren't you scared I'd stop you?" Zuko growled. The cruel man just laughed at the suggestion.

"You? Stop _me_? Impossible." Zuko charged forwards to him.

"Don't underestimate me Zhao! I will capture the avatar before you!" Next to him Iroh got up sternly.

"Prince Zuko. That's enough." Zuko ignored him.

"You can't compete with me. I have hundreds of war ships under my command and you? You're just a banished prince. No home, no allies. Your own father doesn't even want you." The last line hurt more than Zuko liked to admit.

"You're wrong! Once I deliver the Avatar to my father he will welcome me home with honour, and restore my rightful place on the throne!"

"If you father really wanted you back home, he would've let you return by now, Avatar or no Avatar. But in his eyes you are a failure and a disgrace to the Fire Nation." He stated mater-of-factly.

"That's not true." Zuko said, doubt entering his mind slowly.

"You have the scar to prove it." THAT WAS IT! With a cry of frustration Zuko went right up to Zhao and stared at him, trying to put as much hate as he could summon into his glare.

"Maybe you'd like one to match!" Zhao grunted in amusement.

"Is that a challenge?"

"An Agni Kai. At sunset."

"Very well." He straightened himself. "It's a shame your father won't be here to watch me humiliate you." He turned to Iroh. "I guess your uncle will do." He turned to the exit and left, a smug expression on his face as he did. How was it possible for him to be so easy to detest?

* * *

Aang was huddled in Katara's arms as she comforted him. The shock of an entire culture being wiped out, everyone he ever knew was dead and the closest thing to a father Aang ever had was a charred skeleton in front of him. He just couldn't handle it. It was amazing Katara had managed to drag him out of his grief-induced Avatar state.

All of the anger he felt towards the Fire Nation in that moment, it scared him. All he wanted to do was destroy all of those angry fiery shapes he felt. He wanted to smother them, to blot them out of existence.

What Katara had said, did she mean it?

"_Sokka and me. We're your family now. The airbenders aren't gone forever. You have Eira! You have us!" _Realisation dawned on him. He did have Eira. He had Sokka. He had Katara.

He stared into the identically blue eyes of the two water tribe siblings, tears blurring his vision.

"If they got here, they probably got the other Air Temples too. Eira and I really are the last airbenders…"

The siblings looked at each other. Eira. They needed to find her, for Aang's sake and for the airbenders.

* * *

**WOW! This was a bitch to write. I was attempting to write this for aaaaaages. I still think it's a**

** bit too long and didn't have nearly enough Eira in it but, sigh. **_**C'est la vie. **_

**Eira was speaking welsh when she talked to Zhao because when she's stressed she tends to flick between languages, so she generally swears in welsh, and she also loves to mess with people who don't know the language. Let's face it, if you had to opportunity to mess with Zhao's head, you would. **

**So, tell me what you thought and what is going to happen to Eira?!**


	9. Chapter 9- Messing with Some Heads

**Thanks for all the reviews and don't worry, this will be a lot more Eira-centric. I've been told many times that I need to include Eira more but for those chapters they're setting up things that will be important later.**

**Now enough talking from me, please review and please enjoy.**

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Chapter 9: Messing With Some Heads

* * *

"Uggh…" Eira groaned as she woke up groggily. They had either just drugged her or gave her a few blows to the head, they both made her feel awful. She looked up and realised that her arms her in restraints above her head.

"Just perfect." She mumbled sarcastically. She tried to shake them loose but they held tight. Oh yeah, she was a prisoner, again… She needed to stop getting captured so much. Looking around she saw a big, mainly empty room with some fire torches near the door. A huge red and black Fire Nation banner sat on the wall behind her. _Real subtle Zhao. Real subtle._

"HELLO?!" She yelled out. It echoed through the room with no reply. This was all she needed. Silence. Now nothing was there to distract her from all of her problems, and she had many problems. Her burn hurt every time she moved as well as her old injuries and she kept in thinking about how Aang, Katara and Sokka were.

Since Zuko had gone to the harbour and met Zhao then they must be on their way to… Kyoshi Island and to meet the Kyoshi Warriors. If only she was with them. If only she hadn't tried to act like a hero and enter a situation to protect someone even if they would've handled the situation better.

Eira laughed. She was acting just like that group in a book she liked to read, throwing themselves into danger to protect someone even if there was no real reason to do so.

Her head was starting to clear and she found herself trying to decipher the dream she had had. Those people, they had looked like they were in the spirit world, so… does that mean that they were spirits. She didn't remember seeing any spirts like them in the show but they were familiar. AGGGH! Too much of this was too familiar, but it was different to the show so she had no idea what was going on.

Why did life hate her so much?

All she wanted to be in life was a simple girl with good GCSE's and who grew up to have a nice family and be a teacher, not a girl who got chucked into a television show. Not a girl with airbending. Not a girl who got captured by fire-throwing maniacs. And not a girl who made those things happen…

And then when she was contemplating the meaning of her presence in this world, then someone came in. And to her _delight_ it was the monkey-faced man himself, Zhao. His sideburns really did make him look like a chimpanzee.

Eira smiled cruelly. Time to mess with his head.

"_Shwmae Commander Zhao._" She said cheerfully to his dismay. He probably expected a quivering scared girl. She kind of was but Eira refused to let him see it. "_Rydych chi'n mynd i fethu._" His face soured.

"Good morning airbender." He said with barely concealed anger. She couldn't help but smile.

"Good morning Zhao, why are you here? I'm not exactly going to cooperate with a man who will eventually try and fail to kill the moon spirit." He flinched slightly. "Yeah I know about that, I actually know a lot about you." Eira lifted her head to directly stare into the firebender's cold eyes. "Zhao the conqueror, Zhao the moon slayer. They're names lost in history. You're forgotten Zhao, history isn't kind to you." He was fuming now, Eira found it amazing how easy it was to get under his skin. He got angry so quickly.

"Tell me why I shouldn't kill you now? Just like the rest of your kind." He asked menacingly, his hand swathed in bright, angry flames.

"Well… because I know exactly where the avatar is right now, where he will be and how he defeats you and the Fire Lord?"

"Likely story." He spat. The mention of a defeated Fire Lord must've rubbed him the wrong way.

"If you want a confirmation I can tell you that you were talking with the banished son of the Fire Lord, Prince Zuko and his Uncle, General Iroh, the brother of Fire Lord Ozai."

"You could have easily guessed that. Stop messing around and tell m-" He started but Eira wasn't finished yet.

"You studied firebending under Jeong Jeong but you're lack of self-control and temper caused you to make foolish mistakes and you rejected his teachings, which would've helped you in the long run but it doesn't really matter. When you were a junior lieutenant you found the vast spirit library where you first found out about Tui and La's mortal forms. Do you want me to continue?" Eira smiled as she saw the disbelief on the Commander's face. She was pretty sure that he believed her now. Some of those things she spouted were secrets he had never told anyone, until later on.

"Fine. You have shown to have knowledge but you are forgetting one simple thing. You're in chains right now. You are a teenage girl and I am a powerful firebender." He knelt in close, cruelty shining on his face. "You will lead me to the avatar if you like it or not and _when_ I find him you will have outlived your purpose and there will be nothing stopping me from ending your miserable life." As if to prove his point, he struck her with a whip of fire, burning her side.

She gasped in pain as it burned her and bit her lip to stop herself from crying out. She saw him get some cruel amusement out of her pain as he left.

_Yay! More burning…_ She winced in pain as she attempted to cool the burnt Water Tribe coat. The heat of it still bit into her skin and she exhaled sharply, trying to conceal the pain.

She couldn't take a lot more of this. She needed to get back to Aang, Katara and Sokka. Her only option would be to lead Zhao to where they would be, but then escape him and find them. So… They would be on Kyoshi island about now and Zuko would be there as well. That should be a good distraction, but then again she would be leading a Fire Nation commander and all of his soldiers to invade and attack an innocent Earth Kingdom village. But she needed to escape and they managed to get rid of them in the show, right?

Her stomach growled and her arms were starting to hurt from the constant pulling of the restraints as well as her other injuries. She groaned in frustration and pain. She needed to get out as soon as possible.

* * *

She waited for hours until a guard finally came in to check if she was still alive or something. As he came in Eira decided to start her plan.

"Excuse me." She called out. He turned to face her. "I need to tell Commander Zhao something, it's about the location of the avatar. I know where he is but I need to work out some conditions." The guard said nothing but turned to leave. _WHY DOESN'T ANYONE ACTUALLY TALK TO ME?_ More waiting and finally he returned with a hideous smug expression on his face.

"So you've finally come to your senses."

"In a way. I'm going to tell you the location of the avatar BUT, only if I'm allowed out with you. I'm not exactly very good at geography." He seemed to mull it over in his head.

"Wouldn't it be simpler for me if I simply tortured you for the information?" _I'll wipe of your stupid smug smile you little ba-_ She managed to pause her train of thought and managed to reply.

"Maybe, but as I said, I'm not good at geography. Unless I'm out there I won't be able to give you the exact location and if you don't know the exact location the avatar would be able to see you coming and escape." This time he seemed to consider it.

"Fine." He finally answered. "If you're under supervision, in restraints and cooperative I'll agree to your terms. But, if you're information is false or you try to escape, you will have no second chances and we will kill you." He smiled evilly at the thought. "Is that a fair deal?"

"Yes… It's fair."

* * *

**Okay, this is a bit of a short chapter of Zhao-Eira banter but at least now Eira has her opportunity to escape the bastardry of the Fire Nation prison cells. **

**Please review, sorry this is short and I will be updating soon.**


	10. Chapter 10- Burning Guilt

**Okay, first things first, updates will be slowing. Christmas holidays are ending and I have exams coming up soon, but I will keep with this don't worry.**

**This may be a bit fast-paced but I couldn't really fix that without adding useless filler or padding so I'm sorry.**

**Please review and tell me what you think**

* * *

Chapter 10: Burning Guilt

* * *

Eira was standing over a map, looking carefully and closely at it. She vaguely remembered the format of the map from the show but never one this detailed. She scanned the Earth Kingdom coastline for Kyoshi Island and as she did, she felt guilt. She was intentionally leading a Fire Nation army to an innocent, neutral village just to satisfy her own needs.

She shook her head and mentally smacked herself, she needed to focus.

Her blue eyes narrowed as she searched the coast and she finally found it. She pointed to the small island hesitantly.

"The avatar is there."

"Ah, Kyoshi Island, the home of the avatar's past life. It sounds credible." She heard Zhao say behind her. Eira scowled, she was up in the navigation room so she could show Zhao were he needed to go, bound in chains and with around three firebenders guarding her, Zhao really wasn't taking chances. It wasn't very good for her plans but she would have to press on.

"He _is_ there." She persisted. "He would want to ride the Unagi or the Elephant Koi, he _is_ only twelve."

"Very well." He turned to the navigator. "Set course for Kyoshi Island."

_Please may this work. I know I don't make good plans but to whoever brought me here, please make this work._ Eira prayed silently as the guards escorted her back to her cell.

* * *

She tried to silence the thoughts by staring at a wall. And she failed. Terribly.

She had been waiting for ages and ages until they arrived. Her guards came in, threw her up on her feet and shoved her out the door. They didn't really know the meaning of the word "gentle". As they dragged her up to the deck she looked around for any chance of escape, so far, none.

Zhao was standing on the deck, surveying the island approaching quickly. Little fishing ships made a wide berth for the huge killer warship they were on. Eira felt awful as the men on those ships gave them looks of utter hatred and fear. And it was Eira's fault.

While she was feeling awful at the fishermen's reactions, Zhao was thriving on it. It was like he fed on the hatred and terror. He was a truly awful person.

The ship stopped suddenly, landing at the harbour with a jolt. At the little dock people were running and yelling, dropping the baskets of fish and shells to try and get away from the iron ship and the evil people inside it.

The point of the hull opened to create a ramp for to walk down and around twenty firebenders walked out of it, fully armoured and ready for a battle.

Zhao looked at the scene with a sadistic pride and Eira couldn't stand it. They seemed distracted enough with the terrorising of the villagers, this was her opportunity.

Steeling herself for action, she shoved a guard back and lashed her foot out at the other. Zhao turned her attention to her and sent a flash of fire at her. She raised her chained hands to block the fire as it shattered the restraints. She sent a punch of air towards him and he fell overboard.

She ran across the deck and leaped off the bow landing softly on the ground and she ran as fast as she could go.

She came up to some villages with huts and saw Aang and Katara fighting off some firebenders skilfully.

"AANG! KATARA!" She yelled as she ran up to them. They turned to her and grinned as they saw her.

"Eira!" They cried out happily. "You're ok!" Eira ran up and hugged them, happy tears in her eyes, but then she remembered the grave issue she had caused and her expression hardened.

"We need to get out of here. Now."

"Why? We can deal with these guys." Aang said cheerfully, not really grasping the danger he was in.

"They're here for you, Aang… They're strong and powerful. They-" She paused guiltily. They stared at her with happiness at the sight of her alive? She had never felt so awful. Maybe this was a mistake after all. They wouldn't want to be around her if she told them. Why would they? SHE LED THE FIRE NATION TO AN INNOCENT VILLAGE! She couldn't tell them she led someone like Zhao to them.

"Look, it's a long story, where's Sokka?"

"He's with the Kyoshi Warriors over there but how are yo-"

"Right, got it, get on Appa and try put out these fires, get ready to leave. They won't leave unless you do." She said as she ran over to get Sokka. She ran past burning huts, screaming villagers and remorseless firebenders to find Sokka and Suki together next to a hut. She saw Suki leaning in to kiss him and felt that it wasn't the time to butt in but the again she needed to.

"Sokka!" Eira yelled as she ran up to him. When Sokka noticed her he ran up to her and hugged her.

"Eira, you're ok. We thought the Fire nation killed you…" _They thought I was dead?_

"No, they just took me captive so I would tell them where the avatar was… And I-I…" She looked up at Sokka. Despite for his thick white and red makeup she could still see his worried expression and bright blue eyes. She couldn't tell him. "I escaped, but they followed me, they won't leave unless Aang leaves." He nodded in understanding and now Eira got a good look at outfit and it was hilarious.

It was a heavily armoured green kimono but it still looked feminine and as such it looked _amazing _on Sokka.

"By the way, that outfit really suits you."

"Hah! Hah! Hah!" He laughed sarcastically. He turned to Suki sadly. "I swear that I'll come back, but I have to go now."

"I understand. We'll manage against those bastards." She held up her fans and kissed Sokka softly. "Bye." She said as she ran off the deal with some firebender soldiers behind her. Sokka stood there silently as he watched her wistfully.

Eira went up to him quietly as she touched his arm.

"We need to go now. You _will_ see her again. I promise you." He nodded and they both ran over to Appa who was slamming his tail against the wave of firebenders swarming him, sending them flying back. "Come on!" Eira yelled at Sokka as they ran over to the huge sky bison. She jumped and climbed up its back to the saddle and pulled Sokka up behind her.

Strands of her pale hair flew in front of her face and she realised that her hair bobble had snapped. That was going to get annoying pretty soon.

Once Sokka was ready on the saddle Eira gave Aang the clear.

"Yip! Yip!" He yelled so his command could be heard above all of the chaos. Appa flew up into the sky and they all looked back at the burning island with grief. The orange light reflecting off their sad faces.

"Look what I brought to this place." Aang said mournfully. The guilt was killing Eira. It was her fault.

"It wasn't you fault, you can blame that bastard commander, Zhao. He's the one who brought them here."

"Zhao? But Zuko was the-" Sokka began but he trailed off when he saw Aang.

He was looking down at the lake and with determination, and he jumped off.

"AANG!" Katara screamed as he fell. They knew that because he was the avatar and an airbender he wouldn't be crushed by the fall into the water but Katara and Sokka didn't know what he was going to do.

They saw him fly down and hit the water, using his airbending to soften the dive. He was bobbing in the water and looking around until he swam towards a fin slowly gliding through the water. The Unagi.

"Look out!" Katara yelled as if she didn't see him swimming towards it. Eira turned to her and placed a reassuring hand on her arm.

"Don't worry, he'll be ok. He's doing this on purpose. He knows what the Unagi is capable of." Katara looked slightly better but she looked at her with that doubt again. It was awful.

She turned away to see Aang flailing around on the Unagi's face and trying to direct it towards the burning village. He wrenched the Unagi's mouth open and it shot a huge jet of water on the village, immediately dousing the flames and burning houses and blasting the firebenders back.

Below them Aang leaped off the Unagi, using his airbending to propel him higher up and safely onto Appa's head.

He looked at the trio already sitting on the bison and went to defend himself.

"I know, I know. That was stupid and dangerous." But Katara was smiling as he sat down.

"Yes, it was." Katara pulled him in closer and hugged him sisterly and Eira watched happily as she saw his blissfully happy expression. They all looked at Eira with the same happy expression.

"We're glad you're ok, Eira." Katara said, and then she saw her arm, namely her burn. "Oh my La!" She exclaimed. "What happened to you?" Eira looked down at her burn and then back at them with a smile.

"It's nothing, just a little disagreement with Zuko. But… I have something I need to tell you guys." Concern entered their faces.

"What is it?"

"W-We have a new enemy as well. I mentioned Zhao before? It's him. He's a commander from the Fire Nation army and he wants you, Aang. He took me from Zuko so I could tell him where you were, and I-I." Eira's voice cracked with emotion. She had caused all of this. The burning of that village, Zhao following them sooner than he should, the changing of the timeline. All so she could escape one sociopath.

"It's ok. We can deal with anything they throw at us, we're just glad you're back." Katara hugged the teen and she was so kind and sisterly, for once, Eira felt that she could stay with them. She was glad to be back.

* * *

**Thanks for staying with this so far and YAY! Eira's back with the Gaang but I bet she'll be feeling a bit guilty about the whole "It's my fault" thing but she'll finally be able to be taught airbending properly by Aang.**


	11. Chapter 11- The Sights of A Big City

**Okay, I'm reeeeeeealy sorry for the last two chapters, I know they were rushed and written awfully and I'm also sorry for not updating in ages (8 days) but I've got some exams and evil teachers who believe that homework, exam revision and assessments go hand-in-hand. TT-TT**

**Anyway, I've started writing now, mainly because I'm procrastinating for the above but here you go.**

**Please review and let's get started.**

* * *

Chapter 11: The Sights of A Big City

* * *

Eira had spent the night with her nightmares. Memories of burning, sadistic tales of the Fire Lord burning the world to ashes and worst of all, Aang, Sokka and Katara finding out about her. How she brought Zhao to that village, how she came from a different world, how she knew about their futures. They abandoned her in this world and the looks of disappointment and disgust on their faces was heartbreaking and Eira was already scared she was breaking in another way.

Every time someone moved or touched her she would flinch as if she was being burned or captured again. She was being gripped with paranoia and she hated it. She was already quite a jumpy person but now she was on the verge of having panic attacks.

They were all worried about her and she shrugged them off but she couldn't hide it. After they set up camp Katara came to see her.

Eira was sitting far away from the fire and she was staring down at the ground solemnly as Katara walked up to her.

"Eira, are you really alright?" Eira flinched at the interruption of her thoughts, but when she was it was Katara and she managed to register her words she made to say she was fine but Katara stopped her before she could. "I know you say you're fine but ever since Kyoshi island you've been acting off." Eira crossed her arms defensively.

"No, I am alright. I'm just… conflicted. I still feel like I'm just putting you guys in danger, I'm not really doing anything to contribute and I allowed some sociopathic firebender to follow you guys."

"You're not useless and we need you more than you know." She smiled and looked at Aang and Sokka who were talking and goofing off together. "You're an airbender. Your presence affects Aang so much. You give him hope for the future. You're also kind and like a big sister to me."

"No, right now you're much more like a big sister." Eira stated bluntly. The young waterbender laughed happily.

"Okay, maybe, but you're still like a sister. I've never had any girl my own age around before and you're what I imagined a sister to be like. Kind, reassuring and selfless." Eira felt genuinely touched by her and she pulled her into a hug.

"I promise not to leave again and I also promise not to get caught by the Fire Nation again, I'll be there for you if you need me." Eira promised seriously and she meant it. She wasn't going to leave them again, they were the closest thing to family she had right now and she needed her family.

"Thank you Eira."

* * *

They were all walking up a little snowy hill trying to follow Aang's bubbly, cheerful steps as he made his way to the top. Sokka was at the back next to Appa and Eira, with Katara in front of them and Aang leading the way. Eira didn't recognise this so it was probably something that wasn't in the main episodes, at least that was what she thought until they saw what was over the hill.

In front of them was a tall mountainscape and in the centre was a beautifully sculpted city with tall earthy walls with pyramid-style areas with houses and buildings built out of them. The whole city looked as if it was carved out of the mountain it stood on and a zig-zagging path led up from the little hills they were walking through to one of the walls.

Aang saw it and turned around to face them while gesturing to the grand city his eager smile clear on his face.

"The Earth Kingdom city of Omashu." He allowed them time to look up and gaze in awe at the remarkable city. "I used to come here all of the time to visit my friend Bumi."

"Wow!" Katara gasped as she stared in wonder. "We don't have cities like this in the South Pole." Sokka had an equally awed expression, almost overwhelmed.

"They have buildings here that don't melt!" he said. Eira giggled at the last comment. It must be weird to have grown up with houses that can melt.

"It's amazing Aang." Eira noted as she looked at the architecture. Her inner-artist was revelling in the amazing designs this world offered, from the buildings to the clothes to the animals, it was all amazing.

Aang jumped down a few metres and skidded down the snowy hill, his smile still etched on his face, but Katara reached out with her arm in a halting gesture.

"Wait, Aang! It could be dangerous if people find out you're the avatar." She said, obviously worried.

Sokka nodded, actually looking somewhat serious for once.

"You need a disguise." He agreed.

"You're arrows are too noticeable as airbender tattoos. It would be too obvious." Eira commented.

Aang looked up, trying to see his forehead arrow, and he looked disappointed. "What am I supposed to do?" He looked at them and added sarcastically. "Grow a moustache?" Sokka looked back at Appa and smiled as if he had a plan.

"Maybe you can…"

Cut to Aang with a wig and moustache made of Appa's fur and Eira and Katara laughing their heads off.

"You know Aang…" Eira gasped between laughs. "You should wear that more often." He just scratched his face with an annoyed expression on his face. He looked over to Appa, twitching his nose in discomfort.

"How can you live with this?" He scratched to face again. "Ugh, it's so itchy!"

Sokka stood around, admiring his "beautiful" creation. He crossed his arms and nodded in approval.

"Now you look like my grandfather." He announced, obviously pleased with this handiwork.

Eira turned to him in disbelief.

"You're grandfather looks like a twelve year-old boy in a sky bison wig?"

"Technically he _is_ one hundred and twelve years old." Katara interrupted.

"Noted." Eira said as she stared at Aang in his ridiculous costume. "But now here's the question, will it fool them?"

Aang twirled his staff and placed it on the ground, leaning on it and placing a hand on his back as if he was in pain.

"Now ya' young whippersnapper, let's get snappin'. The big city awaits us." He said in an old man's voice as he hobbled off towards the pathway to Omashu. Eira groaned internally, how stupid were the guards to be fooled by this? She spotted Katara and Sokka looking at her, the same questioning look on their faces told her they were thinking the exact same thing.

Sighing heavily, they ran after Aang to catch up with him as he was now on the earthy path to the city.

As they walked up the path Aang was talking cheerfully to them about his old times in Omashu.

"You guys are gonna love Omashu. These people are the friendliest around." He turned back to face the huge wall and his eyes widened as he heard the harsh voice of one of the uniformed sentries.

"Rotten cabbages? What kind of slum do you think this is?" Eira turned to see an elderly/middle-aged man in front of his wooden cart full of cabbages. _Aww, poor cabbage man._ Eira thought sadly. That guy never seemed to catch a break. The sentry took the cabbage in his hand and crushed it and then followed by earthbending the earth beneath the cart and throwing the cart and all of its contents down into the valley below. Eira heard his anguished cries and the cart splintered on the rocks and the cabbages broke apart into leafy mush.

"Not my cabbages!"

The four stared at the man in shock and they all just began to feel ten times more nervous.

"Just keep smiling." Aang hissed out of the corner of his mouth as he grinned at the sentries and Eira's heart was racing, this wasn't going to work, in the show it worked but this was "real" life. People weren't that stupid in real life.

Katara grinned uncomfortably and her eyes darted between face to face and Sokka just raised an eyebrow.

The sentries saw them and immediately went to bend a huge boulder over their heads threateningly. The earthbender turned towards them and scowled.

"State your business!" He yelled aggressively. Aang darted out from out of the boulder and ran up into the face of the surprised sentry.

"Now you listen, young man!" He yelled inn his old man voice. "My business is my business and none of yours!" The earthbender was so shocked he dropped the boulder, thankfully they managed to jump out of the way before it crushed them. Eira glared at Aang as she helped Katara steady herself. "I've got half a mind to bend you over my knee and paddle your backside!"

Sokka's eyes and mouth were wide open in shock at Aang's bluntness and audacity to talk to a sentry like that. Instead of earthbending them down the abyss like cabbages he just raised his hands defensively and tried to calm him down.

"Woah! Easy there ol' timer. Calm down and tell me who you are." Eira just felt like her jaw fell to the floor, Sokka and Katara echoing her expression perfectly. People in this world must be blind.

Aang jabbed a thumb at himself. "Name's Bonzu Pippinpaddleopsicopolis, the Third," then he gestured back at the shocked trio. "And these are my two grandkids and my grandson's girlfriend." Eira felt her face burn in embarrassment and inched away from Sokka awkwardly. Katara walked up to introduce herself.

She waved happily. "Hi, June Pippinpaddleopsicopolis. Nice to meet you." The guard rubbed his beard, eying the three children before him. He pointed at Katara and Eira.

"You look like responsible young ladies," He turned to Katara. "You see that your grandfather stays out of trouble. Enjoy Omashu!" He stepped aside and motioned at the city's entrance.

"We will!" They said in unison, lightheartedly. They walked to the entrance as the earthbenders tensed and threw their hands to the ground with the earth wall split open and flew down into the ground in perfect sync with the men.

They walked through the opening and Eira jumped as the guard stopped Sokka.

"Wait a minute," They all jumped and looked nervously at Sokka and the sentry. "You're a strong boy. Be a gentleman and carry your girlfriend's bag." Eira smiled mischievously and looked innocently at Sokka, his eyes bulged in disbelief.

"Great idea." She said as she handed him her bag. He cast an annoyed glare at her and she smiled innocently at him, trying to hold in a giggle as she walked past the entrance. He was hilarious in person _and_ in the show, though she did wish that Aang hadn't chosen _that_ particular cover story. She wasn't very good with romance in any way, fake or real.

The earthbenders pulled their arms in towards their stomachs and in simultaneous splitting from the earth walls and they opened up to reveal the amazing city of Omashu.

Eira turned to look at Aang and saw Momo popping out of the wig and looked happily around, looking so cute he reminded her of her old cat, Peaches. They had the same big ears, green eyes and white and brown fur… Just another thing that reminded her of home… Momentarily saddened by her flashback she didn't notice the guard do a double-take at the winged-lemur popping out from Aang's "hair". Surprisingly, neither did Aang.

It was awesome. They ran over to the small railing that overlooked the city and Eira's breath was taken away. Tall towers of clay buildings with green roofs and huge slopes and slides were scattered strategically around the city over the market place and the green market stalls sold all sorts of items from clothes to food to trinkets. It was so amazing how people in this world designed their cities based on their bending. It all had the air of being worked on and built with hard work and genius. And it probably was.

They all looked up at the aqueduct-like packaging system and Aang looked at it, looking happy and blissful as if he was remembering his times riding them.

"Behold the Omashu delivery system!" They all looked up as a package sped by and an earthbender created a wall of earth to stop it, surprisingly softly for a wall of earth. "Miles and miles of tubes and chutes." Wow! There was nothing like this back home. Bending really changes a lot in a world and how it works. She thought of her airbending and wondered, what would her life be like if she'd been brought up with it. _Well, let's get going and see the rest of the city._ She thought happily.

* * *

**Well, this was a bit of filler but you can't believe how hard this was to write. But I've made it through and I hope you like it. I hope to get another one out quickly.**

**Thanks for reading and please review and tell me what you think.**

**3**


	12. Chapter 12-An Artist's Dream

**Soooooo, this chapter won't exactly be following the actual episode because all that would happen is Eira going crazy due to the fact that she already knows the answers to Aang's challenges and she'd be slowly encased in that rock, ring, thing… Not really fun to read and/or write so I'm going to create something else for her to do instead. Aang will still be doing Bumi's challenges but Eira won't be there as well.**

* * *

Chapter 12: An Artist's Dream

* * *

Eira watched the earthbenders as they moved the chutes to direct the packages around onto different chutes and in different directions. They looked so in control of their element and moved the chutes with such ease Eira was starting to get jealous. Her own bending was practically useless. All she could do with it was punch people without making contact and she failed to _actually_ manipulate air. She needed to talk to Aang about it later.

"Earthbending brings the packages up, and gravity brings them down." Aang explained as they all watched in awe.

Eira turned to look back at Sokka, who was unimpressed.

"Great, so they get their mail on time." Eira scowled at him. Maybe it was just her being from a world without bending but she thought it was incredible. Aang looked back at Sokka, not recognising his sarcasm and smiled.

"They do get their mail on time, but my friend Bumi found," He squinted his eyes mischievously. "A better use for these chutes." He eyes glazed over as he drifted off into memory lane, his smile stretching even further across his face, and Eira didn't like where it was going. His eyes lit up and he ran down the city.

"Come on guys, I've got an idea!" He yelled as he ran past a woman and her child. Having no real other option they all ran after him. They all dodged all of the alarmed people as they tried to follow the excited airbender with Eira stammering "I'm sorry" all the way. Aang needed to learn to calm down sometimes, these people were giving her too many strange looks and she could already feel her face burning bright red from embarrassment.

"Aang! Slow down!" She yelled as they ran after him.

They followed him up some huge stairs and to the top of the chute's system. Aang looked cheerful as he placed a mail cart near the chute.

He looked excited, Sokka and Katara looked unsure and maybe, slightly frightened but Eira was downright terrified. She knew what Aang wanted to happen and she absolutely hated it. She just, can't go on roller coasters and this was pretty much exactly the same, just even less safe.

Aang looked expectantly at them.

"One ride." He said, raising one finger to emphasize his point. "Then we're off to the North Pole. Airbender's honour." He promised. Katara and Sokka looked at each other, both unsure but they complied and got in with Aang. Eira stayed rooted to the spot.

"I'm sorry Aang, but I uh, have a problem with things like this. You guys go on without me… I'll go buy some supplies!" They looked disappointed but understanding as well and they also seemed to realise the cart was also full and she wouldn't fit anyway.

"Ok, we'll meet up at the end of the chute afterwards then." Katara said.

"Sorry, but I'll make sure to get us some more supplies, might as well make myself useful." They nodded and Eira reached in to take the bag from Sokka. "Sorry again, but have fun." The nodded excitedly and Eira waved them good-bye and ran down to the market.

She walked down the city until she heard Katara scream and the cart barrelled down the chute. It shot down the slope and the wind created by its speed ripped things out of people's hands and buffeted the people next to them.

"Oh crud." Eira sighed. She hitched the bag up on her shoulder and began to run after them. She ran as fast as she could but Aang reached for his staff and twirled it around propelling them forwards even faster. "Why, Aang, why?" She groaned as she ran faster after them, twisting around to avoid slamming into people.

They all gave her weird looks and Eira appreciated how strange it must've looked to them. A strange, pale-haired girl running after a mail cart that was filled with three kids that was shooting down the delivery system.

She ran faster after them and silently wished that she knew how Aang did his "running like the wind" thing, it would've helped so many times by now.

Distracted by her thoughts she slammed straight into someone and was knocked forcefully backwards. She landed hard on the ground and the person she knocked into was sent backwards as well. Eira groaned in pain and she got up.

"I-I'm sorry, sir." She stuttered as she helped him up. He looked sourly at her and brushed himself off angrily and gave her a strange look. "Uh, I have to, uh, go now." She said hesitantly as she ran off, and cursed her clumsiness. She had no idea where they were. But she did know where they _will_ be.

She pivoted on the spot and looked for Bumi's palace but the city was so vast and cluttered she couldn't see it. To be honest, she didn't know what it really looked like.

Eira felt her face turn red again from embarrassment as she realised how strange and confused she looked. She looked around to see a market stall selling clothes and saw a beautiful light blue scarf. Maybe that could help her.

She walked up to the stall and picked up the scarf. She looked up to see an overweight, dark skinned woman with long brown hair that was pinned up loosely with a green clip. She looked motherly, kind but stern and she wore a dark green and brown robe with a tight, fabric belt tied around her waist. Just like the others she did a slight double take at Eira's appearance but she quickly masked it.

"Excuse me, but how much is this?" Eira asked politely.

"It's three copper pieces." She answered. Eira checked her bag for the money pouch and pulled out three blue, thick coins. Water Tribe coins.

"Would you accept Water tribe money?" The woman took the coins and examined them. Apparently satisfied she nodded and added them to her satchel.

"Are you new here in Omashu?" She asked hospitably. Eira nodded.

"I just came from the Water Tribe." Eira answered, hopefully clearing that up for the woman. "Do you know where Bumi's palace is?" The woman pointed her in the right direction and Eira thanked the woman for the scarf and left.

She walked up some stairs and followed the path of destruction. A sobbing Cabbage man, a broken stall, etc. She walked around for a while and she finally found it. It was a tall, grand building located at the peak of the mountain the city was placed on and it had cream-ish walls and a red tiled roof.

As she approached it the sentries in front of it they crossed their spears threateningly.

"State your business!" They yelled, and Eira resisted the urge to roll her eyes. They were obsessed with all of the formalities here. An odd contrast with their odd king.

"Um, my friends have been taken to see King Bumi and I would like to see them." Eira cringed internally. She wasn't very good with these formalities. "The Avatar and Sokka and Katara." The guards looked at each other questioningly and then one turned to face her.

"King Bumi isn't allowed to be disturbed at the moment. Come back later." He stated bluntly. _GAHHHH!_ _But I need to see them. I will not be separated again._ She thought, upset at not being allowed to enter.

"Do you know when they will be free?"

"No."

"Fine. I'll come back later." Eira conceded and walked back down to the market. She might as well get the food.

Her fists were clenched as she walked back down the stairs. She wasn't exactly nonconformist when she was a home but when an authority figure got in her way she would get angry very quickly. Usually the only way for her to calm down was with a good book but she wasn't sure she'd be able to find a book here let alone _read_ one.

Eira sighed as she walked to a vegetable stall and inspected the food. It wasn't the food she was used to but it did look at least a little familiar.

She picked up some green vegetables that looked like they could be cut up into a salad or something and paid the man with the Water Tribe money. Luckily there was still quite a bit left.

Eira continued to flick between stalls, getting a variety of vegetables, fruit, meat, etc. until she was satisfied she had enough for another week or so. All this time she was thinking over how to spend the time she'd be waiting for Aang, Katara and Sokka to get out. AT home she would read (which was a sad no here) or draw… Wait maybe that was a good idea.

She looked around for any stationary and was rewarded with some paper, ink and brush. They were just like the set she had packed in that satchel before Zuko took it. Eira frowned at the memory. That satchel would've been really useful but _noooo_ she had to get it taken away.

She looked in the money pouch and thankfully still had quite a lot left and ran over to the stall. She purchased some paper, a brush and a small ink pot. As she thanked the man for the items she walked back up the stairs to an area near the palace and sat down.

She opened her bag and brought out her purchased items. The food that she could make into a stew or something later (it'd be better than Sokka's cooking), her new scarf, the writing kit and some other miscellaneous items that had needed replacing.

Eira nodded, satisfied and brought out the paper and started to draw. She wasn't the best artist, but she was good enough to enjoy it.

She drew Appa and Momo, she drew her family, she drew her new friends, she drew and drew until the light began the dim and the paper was soon coated in sketches, doodles, portraits and little paragraphs of writing. All that she had experienced over the time she'd been in this world spilled out onto the page and she was impressed with them.

She'd managed to get Aang's carefree, innocent smile. Sokka's corny, yet funny personality, Katara's friendly demeanour. They were the best she had ever done and she was happy.

The doors opened behind her and she jolted with shock, quickly turning towards them and a huge smile etched itself on her face.

"Katara! Sokka! Aang!" Eira shouted as she ran over to them, embracing the trio in a huge hug. "I bought some food." She announced happily.

She stepped back from the hug and saw an incredibly old man with a crazy grin on his face and large tufts of white hair on the side of his dark face. He wore a green robe and a weird green and gold, feathered crown. It was King Bumi.

Eira stepped back in shock. "So I guess this is King Bumi." She guessed.

Aang nodded and jumped up to hug his hundred-and-twelve year old friend.

"Eeup!" He said. "We're gonna go mail cart riding again, wanna' come Eira?" Eira shook her head but with a smile on her face.

"Sorry Aang, but no. Have fun with Bumi." He turned and ran with his friend and soon after their yells of childish joy rang out through the entire city, and the cries of a poor cabbage man.

"MY CABBAGES!"

* * *

**So this was basically a fun, kind-of filler chapter but I managed to fix a problem. Now Eira can just wear her scarf to hide her hair and that won't be such a big factor against her.**

**Anyway, please review and thanks for reading!**


	13. Chapter 13- Curses and Gifts

**It's chapter 13 people and onto the next episode, "Imprisoned"**

**Hope you enjoy and please review and tell me what you think!**

* * *

Chapter 13: Curses and Gifts

* * *

It was a nice morning, mild and clear and what made it better was the scent of food being prepared. Eira had her hair tied up in her new scarf and was sitting next to the campfire stirring a pot full of chopped vegetables and boiled water. She was attempting to make a sort of stew out of a portion of the food she had bought at Omashu and if the smell was anything to go by it was working.

Sokka was lying by Appa, his stomach growling and his mood irritable. He wasn't used to waiting so long for a meal. Aang was sitting on a root and Katara was folding a blanket neatly. Momo was looking absolutely adorable as he nibbled on a leaf, he was hungry as well.

"Sokka." Eira started. "If you're so hungry go find some berries or nuts or something." He thought about it for a while and got up grumpily and wandered into the woods around their camping place.

"And get something for Momo too!"

She stirred it for a while and sectioned off a bit into a bowl. The vegetarian option for Aang. Eira then added half of it into another bowl and added the previously cooked meat chunks she had prepared.

Katara watched her with intrigue as Eira stirred, added ingredients and checked the fire. She added the meat version of the stew into three other bowls for Katara, Sokka and herself and she was finished.

"Done." She announced happily. "Sorry for the wait, but hopefully this will last us a while so you won't have to wait this long again." Katara smiled as she reached for the bowl, as did Aang.

Eira picked up Sokka's and yelled into the woods.

"SOKKA! Get back here! I've finished!" and in a matter of minutes the Water Tribe warrior returned with what appeared to be several rocks in his hand. Eira raised an eyebrow quizzically at him.

"What? You said to forage for nuts and TA DA!" He presented the rocks in his hand.

"Those are rocks." Eira stated bluntly. His face visibly sank but then he smelt the delicious stew in Eira's outstretched hand.

He snatched it and sat down, wolfing it down immediately, mimicking Aang, the opposite of Eira and Katara who sat down gently and ate it with a certain level of restraint.

Eira smiled at the two boys delight at the meal they were eating.

"So, it's safe to assume you like it?" They both nodded and in several, quick minutes their bowls were clean.

"Thanks a lot Eira that was awesome!" Aang said.

"Yeah it was ten times better than anything Katara can make." Katara scowled at him. "What?" He asked indignantly. "I'm just being polite." He was met with another scowl from his sister.

Eira laughed and went back to her food. Aang looked at her quizzically.

"Eira. Are you eating meat?" He asked quietly. And Eira stopped in her tracks. _Oh crap! Airbenders are vegetarians!_ She literally facepalmed.

"I'm so sorry Aang! I completely forgot about that!" She quickly set down her bowl and faced the young nomad. "I'm just not used to _being _an airbender yet, I mean following the airbending nomads." Eira felt her face turn bright red again. She had completely forgotten. How could she? "Sorry."

"It's ok Eira, you just didn't know better." _But I should've._ She thought guiltily. She packed up the bowls and the small pot of leftover stew and placed them back on Appa's saddle.

"Now who wants some nuts?" Sokka asked, presenting the small pile in his hand proudly. Katara responded just like any other sibling, by hitting him in the head.

"Ow!"

A huge rumble rang out and Momo looked around, confused. Another rang out and he leapt into Aang's arms, terrified.

"It's coming from over there!" Aang yelled, pointing to the west of their camp. Worried, they all ran over to where the sound was coming from.

"Shouldn't we be running _away_ from the huge booms, not _towards_ them?" Sokka asked as they began to close in on the noise. They ignored him as they approached a huge root and ducked behind it.

Slowly, they peeked their heads over the top to look at what was causing the noise and it was just a guy.

He looked sixteen or so, his shoulder length dark brown hair held back by a green headband but with two sections out, framing his face. He also had bright green eyes and wore a green wrap-around shirt and black trousers. He held himself sturdy and strong, like how Eira had imagined earthbenders would do. And that what he was doing.

He shifted his weight between his two legs and brought a huge boulder spinning around him and with a push he sent it straight into the earthy wall of the ditch he was in.

"Wow." Eira gasped. Bending really impressed her.

"An earthbender." Katara said in awe.

"Let's go meet him!" Aang exclaimed. Sokka was unsure though.

"He looks dangerous, we better approach him carefully."

"Hi there! I'm Katara, what's your name?" Katara yelled, waving to the guy, who Eira guessed was Haru. Eira and Sokka both groaned at her bluntness as she walked up to him without any caution.

Haru looked over and stopped bending in shock, the boulder dropped down heavily. Katara's face fell as he began to run away, jumping up and collapsing two walls to create a blockade.

"NICE TO MEET YOU!" Aang yelled, waving obliviously.

"I just wanted to say hi." Katara said softly, confused by his reaction. Eira stood behind them, arms crossed nervously.

"Katara, the Fire Nation isn't exactly nice to the benders of other elements. He was probably not supposed to be seen Earthbending and when he saw us, he got scared. He's probably heading back home or something." She explained calmly.

"Oh, well we should go say sorry or something." Aang said as he began to walk over and follow the path. Katara running after leaving Sokka and Eira looking sceptically at each other but following anyway.

* * *

They approached the dusty mining village quickly, passing green-tiled houses and shopkeepers, right now Aang was attempting to trade the nuts/rocks Sokka had _foraged _for a man's weave hat.

Eira walked alongside Katara and they saw Haru walk into a house.

"Hey." Katara said in surprise as she saw him. Eira waved for the boys' attention and they followed him. Luckily it was a shop so it wasn't trespassing and they heard Haru's mother talking to him. She looked like him and wore a similar headband over her grey hair.

"Where have you been, Haru? You're late! Get started on your chores."

"Hey you're that kid from before." Katara said, startling Haru and his mother. "Why did you run away?" Eira burst in to interrupt Katara.

"Katara!" Eira hissed. "Ix-nay on the arthbending-eay!"Haru looked nervously at them and backed up slowly.

"Uh, I'm sorry. You must have me confused with another kid."

"No, she doesn't. We saw you earthbending." Eira cringed as Aang and Sokka entered the shop loudly, Aang wearing that man's hat.

"Aang!" Eira exclaimed as she faced them. Did no-one understand her?! Haru and his mother seemed to share her reaction. The mother slamming the door and windows shut.

"They saw you doing what?!" She yelled at him.

'No, mum!" He exclaimed defensively. "They're crazy look at the way they're dressed!"

Aang gazed up at his conical hat, Katara awkwardly gripped her dress hem, Sokka smoothed his sleeve and Eira adverted her gaze self-consciously to look at her feet as her face turned red.

Haru's mother wasn't impressed.

"You know how dangerous it is. What if _they _caught you doing… _that_?" She scolded cryptically. Loud knocks came from the door and Eira's heart jumped into her heart.

"Open up!" Yelled a masculine voice from outside. Sokka looked through the closed blinds and his eyes widened in fear.

"Fire Nation." He whispered. "Act natural."

They all scrambled into position and Eira re-adjusted her scarf to hid as much of her hair and face as possible.

She faced Katara who was staring, unfocussed at Haru who was grasping his chin and Sokka who was staring furiously at an apple. Katara grabbed some berries and stuffed them in her face as the man forced himself into the shop.

Eira looked under her scarf at the man at the front. He wore red and black Fire Nation armour and he had a flattened face that looked squashed, as he looked over in her direction Eira flicked her eyes to stare at the floor.

She flicked her eyes back up to see Aang's elbow slip and to see him fall down, hitting his face against the top of a water barrel. Any other time Eira would've laughed at the situation but it was hard to laugh when an intimidating Fire Nation tax collector was staring you down.

Haru's mother's green eyes narrowed as she saw the men enter. Her face looking older as she scowled.

"I've already paid you this week. What do you want?" The man turned back to the woman with a cruel smile that seemed to be reserved for the Fire Nation.

"The tax just doubled." His voice turned arrogant. "And we wouldn't want an accident now, would we?" His palm burst into flames, forming a flickering orb of orange fire above it.

Eira let out a yelp as she backed away. Her burn on her arm seemed to grow painful again as she stared at the fire. The guard looked amused as everyone backed away and a familiar anger rose in Eira, he reminded her of Zhao's cruel love of fear.

"Fire can be so hard to control." Haru's mother walked over to a small wooden box and pulled out a meagre handful of Earth Kingdom coins and Haru glared angrily at the man from behind the counter, a move that didn't escape Eira's attention.

"You can keep the copper ones." The man said as he threw down four copper pieces as he left, slamming the door.

"Nice guy." Sokka said sarcastically. "How long have the Fire Nation been here?"

"Five years. Fire Lord Ozai uses our town's coal mines to fuel his ships." Haru's mother spat bitterly.

"They're thugs." Haru stated bluntly. "They steal from us. And everyone here's too much of a coward to do anything about it."

"Quiet, Haru! Don't talk like that." She scolded, angered.

"I don't get it. Haru's an earthbender, he can help." Katara said curiously.

"Katara, I told you before. The Fire Nation doesn't like the benders of other elements. They probably think that only they are worthy of bending an element so they try and _get rid_ of the other benders." Eira said.

Katara didn't get it. She lived in fear of the Fire Nation but she didn't truly understand about their reach in the other nations.

Haru's mother looked curiously at Eira but nodded sadly.

"Earthbending is forbidden. It has caused nothing but misery for our village." She looked sadly at Haru. "He must never use his abilities."

Katara looked outraged and Eira knew what she was about to say and it wouldn't help them. So Eira stepped in.

"But Haru had a gift. He can help you fight back against the Fire Nation."

"Not using earthbending won't solve your problems. The Fire nation is the cause of your problems, they cursed your village with their presence, not Haru's bending. It's a part of who we are." Eira added.

"Asking Haru to not use earthbending is like asking me not to use waterbending."

Haru looked shocked and his mother looked astonished.

"You don't understand." She began.

"But I do. They'll take Haru to a prison, where he can't use bending, if he's discovered. I'm not saying he should use his bending in front of them and too openly, but the Fire Nation is the cause of your trouble. Not earthbending." Eira explained calmly.

"They'll take him, just like they took his father." Haru's expression hardened and Katara looked even more shocked and upset. Eira stared at her feet rather than face the two of them.

* * *

Haru led them to a tall red building and they all looked in the opening of the barn near Haru's house and it was full of hay.

"My mum says that you can stay here for the night, but you have to leave in the morning." He explained. Eira looked to see Appa siting lazily as he stared at them. It was such a pain to go back for him and to get him inside but, they eventually managed, as well as collecting their stuff.

"And I'll make sure Appa doesn't eat all of your hay." Aang said, pointing at the giant sky Bison who was currently eating a mouthful of hay.

Sokka and Aang settled in happily and Eira and Katara decided to walk back with Haru.

"I'm sorry if what I said earlier upset you." Eira apologised.

"We didn't know about your father." Katara explained.

"That's okay. It's funny, the way you were talking back in the store? It reminded me of him." He said to Katara.

"Thanks." Katara said, obviously flattered.

"And you're right, Eira. The Fire Nation is our problem not our bending."

He looked up at the sky for a while, as if contemplating something.

"My father was very courageous. When the Fire Nation invaded, he and the other earthbenders were outnumbered ten to one. But they fought back anyway."

"He sounds like a great man." Katara said as she stared at him.

They walked in silence for a while and Eira studied them as they walked and suddenly spoke up.

"Huh, I realised that I could tell if you were an earthbender even if you didn't use your abilities in front of me." Haru looked shocked.

"Y-You can."

"You walk very firmly. You make sure you're as attached to the ground as you can be. You also move very sturdily and you don't flow through your movements as much. It's as if you're earthbending without _actually_ earthbending, your mother doesn't move the same way so it's not just a family thing." Eira turned to Katara with her studying gaze.

"I've also noticed that you're the opposite, you flow, you move very unpredictably so you can change at a moment's notice, just like your bending as well." The two benders looked shocked as if they'd never noticed it before.

"I-I guess you're right. I guess." Haru said as he rubbed his neck.

"You shouldn't worry, the Fire Nation army is completely unobservant. The only way you'd stand out to them is if you earthbend in front of them or if you had a huge indicator such as incredibly bright hair, like mine." She motioned to her pale hair under her scarf and Haru's eyes widened.

_Well at least the scarf does keep it hidden._

"After the attack they rounded up all of the earthbenders and took them away." He looked down. "We haven't seen them since."

"And that's why you hide your bending." Eira finished.

"Yeah. Problem is…" He earthbent two pebbles to dance across his fingertips. "The only way I can feel close to my father now," He crushed the pebbles to sand in his hand and it blew away in the wind. "Is when I practice my bending. He taught me everything I know."

They all sat down on the cliff and watched the sun set. It felt oddly tranquil.

Katara touched her pendant. A beautiful aqua blue stone carved into a wave pattern was fastened to a dark blue choker around her neck.

It looked beautiful but it was funny how Katara didn't know what it really was, you'd think her Gran-gran would've told her.

"See this necklace? My mother gave it to me." She explained.

"It's beautiful." Haru said as he looked at it.

"I lost my mother in a Fire Nation raid. This is all I have left of her."

"It's not enough, is it?" Haru asked, his voice barely masking his own pain. Katara shook her head and Eira felt like she shouldn't have been here.

She didn't relate. The Fire Nation didn't take her family. She didn't know what separated them from her or why, but she still had hope that she'd find them again and that's what kept her going.

"HELP ME!" A sharp cry of help shattered the tranquil air like a hammer. Haru got up quickly and turned towards the source of the cry.

"The mine!" He stated.

"We need to save him!" Eira yelled as she began to run towards the mine, vaguely aware of Haru and Katara behind her. She zipped in between trees to an earth ditch and at the end was an old man trapped on his stomach under a pile of rocks.

"Help me!" He cried out as dust fell on him.

"Sir, don't worry you'll be ok, we'll save you!" Eira promised as she knelt down next to him. She examined the rocks and saw that they were unstable, but if she could… "Please close your eyes, sir." Eira instructed as she prepared to try to bend directly for the first time. She had only done it before when she had been fighting but she needed to at least try.

Haru and Katara saw her in front of the man and they ran over to help the man.

"Please, stand back." She instructed.

Taking a deep breath, she readied herself into a familiar stance and went through the motions of Baguazhang. She moved her arms in a circle and lashed out with them but nothing happened.

"Dammit!" She yelled. She turned to Haru. "We need you Haru, I can't use my bending to help and they're going to fall any second." As if on cue the rocks started to move threateningly. More dust fell on the quivering old man.

He looked at her with guilty fear.

Katara ran up and tried to pull the man out but he still didn't budge.

"Please Haru. No-one can see you here! It's the only way." Haru looked around and leapt away from the debris. He steadied his arms and pushed them towards the rocks, and as if a vacuum had appeared in the mine, all of the rocks pulled away from the man.

Eira and Katara quickly dove in to drag the man out of danger and they stood him up.

"You did it, Haru!" Katara exclaimed in joy. Haru looked down at his hands with, pride? And smiled.

"Your father would be proud, Haru." Eira said as she smiled at him, though she was disappointed that she absolutely failed to successfully bend the air to do what she had wanted. Why couldn't she do it?!

* * *

**Yay! We've met Haru! Yeah, Eira can't really bend properly yet and that will be sorted out later don't worry. The whole _benders walk differently thing_ is just something I guess or think would happen seeing as most bending requires movement.**

**I hope you like this and please tell me if you'd prefer me to separate each episode into two chapters like I've been doing, or to combine them so every chapter is an episode. I'd like to know.**

**Please review and tell me what you think! :D**


	14. Chapter 14- The Prison Ship

**Sorry for the wait, this is my longest chapter yet.**

**Anyway, I've decided that after this I'm going to make every episode into a chapter instead of splitting them up. They'll be a lot longer and it'll take longer to update but it'll be a lot easier to deal with.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter and please tell me what you think and review.**

* * *

Chapter 14: The Prison Ship

* * *

"It was so brave of Haru to use his earthbending to save that man." Katara mused as she leant against a pile of straw on her bedroll and they all sat in the barn. She was so happy that Haru used his bending and Eira knew it was going to end up ok for him but… She didn't feel right.

"You must've really inspired him, Katara." Aang said as he leant forward to smile at Katara, gazing at her in a dream-like state.

"I guess so." Katara said, trying to hide her excitement at being called inspirational.

"Katara… I know it was right to save that man but, you saw how Haru's mother acted towards his bending. What if that man was the same? Haru might not be safe." Katara looked at her in disbelief.

"He wouldn't. He's not from the Fire Nation." Eira couldn't believe how naïve she was despite all that she had experienced. She grew up far too quickly.

"Anyway, we should get to sleep, we're leaving at dawn." Sokka interrupted as he wrapped his blanket over his shoulder and rolled over.

Katara pouted and threw her hands on her blanket.

"Dawn?! Can't we sleep in for once?"

"Absolutely not! This village is crawling with Fire Nation troops. If they discover you're here, Aang, we'll be eating fireballs for breakfast. Goodnight." Sokka said commandingly as he turned over again to try and get comfortable.

"At least we don't have to eat those nuts." Katara said slyly, smirking.

"Good night!"

They all shared a laugh at Sokka's indignation and turned to go to sleep, but Eira just couldn't do it. Haru was going to get arrested. She tossed and turned on her roll mat until she could stand it no more. She gently rolled her blanket down to her feet and got up, being careful to grab her scarf so she could at least try and be stealthy.

She tip-toed across the barn and walked down across to Haru's house. The night was dark and cold and bright stars filled the sky in constellations Eira didn't recognise. It was odd and it brought back home the fact that she wasn't home.

She saw orange, flickering lights past the trees that she was hiding in and heard loud cries of,

"That's him! That's the earthbender!" It was the old man!

She saw a Fire Nation soldier push the man out of the way and apprehend Haru, grabbing his arm and hauling him away. Eira threw a hand over her mouth to stop her gasp from getting out and tried to resist the urge to run over, kick that man in the groin, grab Haru and run but that wouldn't end well for anyone. She'd get caught, Haru would get caught and, even worse, Aang would get caught.

Eira just had to watch as Haru got dragged away and the small fiery torches fade out into the darkness.

"I've got to tell them." Eira whispered quietly to herself in horror as she stared at the spot where Haru had just been.

* * *

After going back to the barn, Eira sat back on her mat and since she didn't want to wake anyone up she had to wait until morning. She eventually got to sleep but when she woke up she planned to tell everyone, but Katara was already gone.

"Guys!" Eira said as she woke up. "Where's Katara?!" Sokka and Aang bolted upright, well at least Aang did but Sokka just groggily propped himself up on his elbow.

"She's gone out to get some water." He groaned, trying to block the light from waking him up.

"_We should get to sleep, we're leaving at dawn._" Eira mocked in a poor imitation of Sokka's voice but he just rolled over. Eira got up and walked over to him, snatching his blanket away. He curled up and tried to take it back but it was already out of his reach.

"Get up!" He rolled over and fell off the pile of hay he was sleeping on. He was just like Jenna on Monday morning.

"Haru's been captured!" They all turned around and looked at the entrance to see Katara, visibly upset. "They took him! They took Haru away!"

Aang jumped up, surprised and gasped at Katara.

"What?!"

"The old man turned him in to the Fire Nation - it's all my fault - I forced him into earthbending!" She explained hurriedly.

Sokka got up from the floor to comfort his sister, placing a hand behind her shoulder.

"Slow down, Katara. When did this happen?" He asked.

"They came at midnight." Eira said matter-of-factly. They looked at her suspiciously. She raised her hands defensively. "I couldn't sleep and I heard some yells." She looked away from their faces. "I was going to tell you when you woke up." She felt her face turning red again, thankful for the scarf covering most of her face.

"If they came at midnight then it's too late to track him, he's long gone." Sokka concluded. Katara turned defiantly towards the door.

"We won't need to track them." She said, clenching her fists. "The Fire Nation is going to take me right to Haru."

"…Katara…." Eira started quietly.

"Why would they do that?" Aang asked.

"Because I'm going to get arrested for earthbending!"

* * *

"Katara, this is a bad idea, there must be another way to find Haru." Eira insisted as she helped Sokka roll a boulder up a hill to an air vent.

"But hey, it just might work. There are ventilation shafts throughout these mines. All Aang has to do is send an air current from that vent to this one right here. The boulder levitates and ta-da! Fake earthbending!" He gestured to the vent and the boulder.

Katara propped her hands on her hips and looked over at Aang.

"Did you get all of that, Aang?" She asked as Aang was playing with a butterfly and Momo.

"Don't worry, Katara. I got it, I remember his cue." Eira said as she got into place behind the rock, next to Aang.

"Come on guys, you're taking all of the fun out of this." Aang complained.

"You mean being intentionally being captured by a group of ruthless Fire Nation soldiers?" Eira asked in disbelief. How did Aang manage to goof off so easily?

"Exactly! That's fun stuff!"

She looked over the rock and saw Sokka approach.

"Here they come! Get in your places!" He yelled as he ran. Aang stopped playing with the butterfly and he turned to look at Katara from behind their rock cover.

Eira heard a group of armoured soldiers approach and Sokka and Katara over-acting. It was truly cringe-worthy acting. Her primary school's school play was better acted.

"Get out of my way, pipsqueak!" She heard Sokka yell as they bumped into each other.

"How dare you call me pipsqueak, you giant-eared cretin!" Katara retaliated loudly. And it went on and on like that.

"What did you call me?"

"A giant-eared cretin! Look at those things! Do herds of animals use them for shade?!"

"You better back off!"

"I will not back off! I bet elephants get together and make fun of how large your ears are!"

"That's it! You're going down!"

"I'll show you whose boss! Earthbending style!" That was the cue! Eira nudged Aang sharply with her elbow and he pushed his arms towards the vent, summoning a huge air blast into the vent and she heard the astonished gasps of the soldiers.

"Look! That lemur is earthbending!" One yelled, and Eira facepalmed. Why are the people in this world so _stupid?_!

"It's not the lemur, you idiot, it's the girl!" She hear Sokka yell, sharing her disbelief at the idiocy of these soldiers. "I'll hold her."

Eira heard scuffling and when the noise got for away enough she looked over the boulder and saw Katara look back and give her a worried glance.

Eira got up and stood next to Sokka, who was pulling at his ears, testing their sizes. He pointed at Momo accusingly.

"_You_ have big ears, Momo." Katara's comments must've gotten to him. Momo flattened his ears and cooed in protest. Eira elbowed him and grinned.

"Don't worry, Sokka. You should've seen my dad's." She reassured.

* * *

Eira, Sokka and Aang watched stealthily as Katara was gathered into a cart along with other prisoners. They were wearing those straw conical hats to help blend in. They all watched as Katara was hauled off into a Fire Nation transport along with other earthbenders, wearing a tatty, brown prison garb over her regular Water Tribe outfit. She looked at them longingly, but with determination as well.

As the cart bobbed along on the water, the trio ran over to the barn to get Appa, and before they knew it, they were riding through the clouds, following the huge metal ships.

Eira looked around and saw Aang's nervous face as he stared at the ship in the vast distance. Sokka also noticed this.

"Hey, don't worry." He said. "She'll be fine, Aang. Katara knows what she's doing." Aang flicked the reigns and Appa settled down on the water, a good distance away from the ships but close enough to observe it and get there quickly.

They all sat in silence for a while, just thinking nervously about Katara and how she was.

"So, Aang… Can you help me with something?" Eira asked after a minute or two of silence. Aang turned to face her, smiling.

"Sure, what is it?" Eira shifted uncomfortably and she felt her face turn red. WHY DID HER STUPID PALE SKIN BLUSH SO EASILY?!

"Uh… Can you, uh, help me with my airbending?" He jumped up at the suggestion.

"Sure!" He said cheerfully. "What d'ya want me to help me with?"

"I tried to summon some air to loosen the rocks back when Katara, Haru and I were trying to save that old man, but nothing happened and I couldn't do it. I-If I could then neither Haru nor Katara would be in this mess." Aang looked concerned and he pondered over it for a while.

"Hmmm…. Well, you don't exactly know any of the basics, do you?"

"Not exactly, as in, I know some more combative forms but I seem to be only able to use when, you know, _in_ combat." She explained.

"Then that's it, first I'll teach you the basics." Aang sounded so happy at the prospect of teaching the new airbender.

"All right, so what's first?" Eira asked, standing up nervously.

"Well first, you have to be at peace, so let's start with some simple meditation... At least that's how the monks taught me, at first."

"Okay..." _At least we're starting on the easy stuff._ Eira thought in relief. She hated the idea of blatantly failing at simple airbending in front of Aang. She was his hope for the airbenders and she didn't want to dash his hopes so thoroughly.

They both sat down on the saddle in the half-lotus position, crossed-legged and hands relaxed in the centre of her stomach.

"You just need to focus on clearing your mind and only then can you really airbend." Aang explained as they both sat down.

Eira focused on her breathing. _In...Out...In...Out..._ But she kept on being distracted by Sokka. He twitched and shuffled as he looked over at Eira's bag longingly. This went on for about five minutes until Eira had had enough.

"Sokka, you know that if you're hungry, you _can_ eat if you want. I don't mind." She said. He looked over in shock, and smiled happily.

"Fooooood..." He said longingly as he opened Eira's bag and found the food that she had bought in Omashu.

He chowed down quickly and for once he was quiet as the airbenders meditated. They seemed to meditate for hours and for once Eira managed to collect her thoughts. Her mind... was cleared.

"Okay... I've cleared my mind, now what?" She asked. Aang looked confused as he thought it over.

"Uhhh, then let's try a basic move. The air ball." He finally said. He clasped his hands together and separated them, having them spin around each other in opposite directions and he created a small sphere of spinning air.

Her head still clear, Eira began to focus on the air around her and she span her hands around to mimic Aang. She kept it up, focusing on the wind around her and Aang's example and eventually a small orb of air appeared.

"Cool!" Eira exclaimed as she span her hands around and the orb of wind did the same. Once satisfied she stopped moving and the orb disappeared.

"That was great, Eira!" Eira smiled happily and after a couple of hours of more trying they began to settle down and eat.

"Hey! Sokka, you ate all of the meat stew, I was saving some for Katara!" He rubbed his neck and smiled nervously.

"Oops?"

* * *

At nightfall, Katara's time was up and Aang flew Appa over to the ship, under the cover of the dark sky.

They landed on the ship softly, somehow managing to keep Appa from being noticed and Eira volunteered to go get Katara and Haru.

She walked quietly and stealthily across the deck and managed to refrain from being spotted, mainly due to the fact that the guards weren't really around to just watch the prisoners sleeping. Eira looked around and saw Katara.

She looked so different to everyone else around her. Eira's theory that everyone in this world was basically blind was becoming more believable. She had _freaking_ blue eyes for goodness sake. Didn't all earthbenders have green eyes?

Eira walked over to her and gently shook her awake. Katara's eyes widened in shock and was about to cry out but Eira put a finger over her mouth in a silencing motion. Eira motioned towards the side of the ship and Katara followed her as they made their way to Appa, who was floating next to the ship.

"You're twelve hours are up. We have to go now, find Haru and get him over here." Sokka whispered. But Katara shook her head defiantly.

"I can't."

"But we don't have much time, as blind as the people are here they _will_ notice a giant sky bison sooner or later." Eira said hurriedly.

Aang and Sokka tip-toed around to the two whispering girls quietly.

"Katara, what's wrong?" Aang asked, concerned.

"I'm not leaving." Katara explained to him. "I'm not giving up on these people."

"What do you mean, you're not leaving?" Sokka whispered as loudly as he could in these circumstances.

"We can't abandon these people! There has to be a way to help them." She insisted. Eira looked emotionlessly at Katara as she scanned the situation. She remembered the plan from the show but could they still pull it off?

"There is a way..." She said slowly. "This ship runs on coal, and coal can be earthbent. If Aang goes inside the ship and uses his airbending to push the coal onto the deck, just like what we did to get Katara arrested. If we do that we could get them to fight back."

"She's right. It could work, Sokka, what do 'ya say?" Aang asked.

Sokka shook his head.

"I think you're all crazy." They all ducked as a spotlight swept the deck. "But it's our best chance. Let's do it."

"We should hide." Eira suggested. Katara and Sokka nodded and ran over to the side, along with Eira and Aang ran over to Appa. His whispered into the bison's ear and he flew away.

Eira heard yells above her as the guards must've seen him, but thankfully their focus on Appa allowed them to get to a hiding place, behind several crates.

"Okay, so Aang will block off all vents except for the one that goes to the deck. And you guys will distract the guards whilst I try and get rid of some of the guards."

The amber light of the sunrise started to peek over the horizon and it fell onto their faces.

"It's almost dawn. We're running out of time. Are you sure this is going to work?" Katara asked unsurely.

"As long as we all play our parts it should work..." Eira answered, a lot more sure than Katara. "Katara, just remember. A speech doesn't always work." Katara seemed to understand and Eira left, running across the deck, but remaining undetected.

"There's the intruder!" Eira heard some guards yell as they advanced towards the Water Tribe siblings.

Eira ran up towards the guard's deck and before they spotted her, she silently jabbed at their necks sending them to the floor without a sound. She heard rumbling and out on the deck a huge pile of coal erupted from the vent.

Tonnes of coal piled up on the deck, spreading soot in clouds, coating everyone in a fine layer of black dust. Aang jumped up out of the vents and landing on top of the coal pile and coughing.

Katara knelt down and grabbed a small piece of coal and thrust it up into the air.

"Here's your chance, earthbenders! Take it! Your fate is in your own hands!" She yelled. Haru rushed forwards but an old man, who she assumed was his father, stopped him.

_Katara! This isn't the time for speeches!_ Eira thought and in a split-second decision, she charged the railing, leaped over it and landed on the coal pile. She summoned a small orb of air, like the one she created before, and managed to throw it at the coal, sending it flying at the earthbenders. They all caught it with their bending in surprise.

Eira cocked her head to the side in amusement and grinned.

"Oh, so you _can_ bend." She mocked in false surprise. She turned and gestured to the warden and his firebenders. "Well then, EARTHBEND!"

She saw the firebenders behind her prepare an attack but before their fire could reach her and the Water Tribe siblings the coal moved to create a wall to defend them. Katara turned to see Haru and his father in earthbending stances. Eira and Katara turned to face each other and they smiled.

The warden arranged his firebenders into orderly lines and yelled.

"Show no mercy!"

Haru's father and the other earthbenders bent a sizable amount of coal and looked determined to fight.

"For the Earth Kingdom, attack!" He yelled in retaliation. They all slammed the coal into the ground and sent the coal projectiles towards the guards. The battle flared up intensely. Fire blasts were reflected by the coal and slammed into the guards who sent them, Eira danced around the battle, swinging her leg around and sending soldiers falling to the ground and trying her best to include the tips that Aang had suggested when she tried to use airbending.

Katara and Aang ran after Sokka who was slicing spears in half and sending the sharp ends towards Momo, who was flying around and catching them and Eira saw Haru and his father working together to compress the coal into a dense lump, slinging it against a door, breaking it and sending the guards on top down to the ground.

"Get to the ships! We'll hold them off!" Haru's father yelled.

"Don't let them escape!" Eira heard the warden yell from behind her as she caught up with Aang, Katara and Sokka.

"Guys! Throw me some coal!" Aang said as he created an air funnel and aimed it towards the warden. They all threw in some coal and it was sent hurtling towards the warden, knocking him and his firebenders to the ground.

Haru's father and the other earthbenders took this chance to gather the coal up to their necks and moved them so they hovered over the edge of the water.

"No, please! I can't swim!" The warden pleaded as Haru's father readied himself to drop them.

"Don't worry I hear cowards fl-"

"Wait!" Eira yelled, interrupting him. "You don't have to kill them, can't you just take them prisoner or something?" Haru's father looked at her oddly and back at the pleading warden. His face hardened but in once, swift movement, the warden and the guards were thrown back onto the ship. The coal crawled up their bodies and hardened, creating restraints.

The warden looked relieved but his expression changed when it looked at Eira. He looked confused as if he recognised her but the looming danger of being held prisoner by earthbenders he had been abusing for years caught up with him.

Haru's father looked disgusted as he looked at the firebenders so he turned and left, gathering everyone onto the boats to leave.

On the boats, Haru and his father came up to all of them.

"Thank you Katara, and you Eira. I want to thank you for saving me. For saving us." Haru said. Katara turned to look at him.

"It was just a bit of coal." She denied. And Eira thought something looked off with her.

"It wasn't just the coal, it was your courage." He turned to Eira and smirked. "And your bluntness as well."

Eira shrugged nonchalantly.

"Hey, sometimes you just have to throw a rock at someone to get them to do something." She said defensively.

"Thank you for helping me find my courage, Katara of the Water Tribe and you...?" He looked at Eira, asking for her name.

"Oh, me? I'm Eira, sir." She said, hurriedly.

"I am Tyro, I forgot to introduce myself before. Eira, thank you for helping me find my mercy. My family and everyone here owes you both so much." He said with gratitude.

"So I guess you're going home now." Katara said. Tyro nodded.

"Yes. To take back my village." He raised his voice and turned to the other earthbenders. "To take back all of our villages! The Fire Nation will regret the day they set foot on our land!" He raised his fist and the other earthbenders cheered at his bravado.

"You can come with us." Haru said to Katara hopefully but she shook her said solemnly.

"I can't. Your mission is to take back your home. Ours is to get Aang to the North Pole." She said as she gazed over to Aang who was sitting on Appa's head with Momo.

"That's him, isn't it? The Avatar." Haru stated. "Katara, thank you for bringing my father back to me. I never thought I'd see him again. I only wish there was some way..."

"I know." Katara said, her hand drifting towards her neck, and that's when Eira realised what looked off about her. Her necklace.

"My mother's necklace! It's gone!" She cried, panicking.

_Oh crap!_ Eira thought as she remembered that they hadn't run into Zuko for a while... Oh no...

* * *

**I've finally done something with Aang teaching Eira airbending! I like to think that she's better at "Korra style airbending" than the spiritual side, but she'll eventually get better.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed this and please review!**


	15. Chapter 15- The Truth

**Well, this is going to be a bit dialogue-heavy so please bear with it but this will have a lot of emotions. A LOT!**

**Anyway, please review and tell me what you think!**

* * *

Chapter 15:The Truth

* * *

The fluffy white clouds zipped past as they all flew through the bright, blue sky. Sokka was carving something into a piece of bark with an uninterested look on her face and Katara was looking over the side of the saddle, watching as several birds as they flew below Appa. Eira was leaning against their bags and writing. It was just a little story idea of hers with little sketches of the side. Aang was sitting lazily on Appa's head, a twig in his mouth.

"Those clouds look so soft..." Katara muttered, somewhat dreamily. "Don't they? Like you just jump down and land on a big, soft cottony heap?"

"You know that clouds are actually wat-" Eira began but Sokka looked up from his carving and gave her a mocking grin, interrupting her.

"Maybe you should try it sometime."

"Hah! Hah! You're hilarious!" Katara said, shooting her brother an annoyed, sarcastic glare.

"I'll try it!" Eira heard Aang yell, she turned her head in Aang's direction Eira watched as Aang grabbed his staff and leap off Appa's head.

"YEAHHHHHH!" They heard his whoop as he fell. Sokka, Katara and Eira looked over the edge to see Aang vanishing in a bunch of clouds.

Katara looked worried and Sokka looked wide-eyed at where he had vanished but Eira had to look away. The height was dizzying. She was used to being on Appa but not looking over the edge of the saddle.

"Uh, guys. Can you not look over the edge, for my sake?" She asked quietly as she backed away.

They both agreed and backed away, just in time for Aang to land back on the saddle and snap his glider shut. He was soaking wet.

"Turns out-" He started.

"Clouds are made of water vapour." Eira finished. "As I was about to tell you before Sokka interrupted me." Eira cast a pointed look at Sokka.

Aang slammed his two fists towards each other and created a large ball of air that expanded out and dried him in the process.

"Cool trick." Sokka noted as Aang leant back and rested on his arms. Eira laughed at Momo as his fur was fluffed up from Aang's airbending. They all shared a good laugh but then Katara saw something from over her shoulder.

"Hey... What's that?" She asked softly.

"It, looks like a scar." Sokka said as they all saw it. It was a scorched forest, black and burnt. Appa flew down and landed on the grey barren earth, charred remnants of trees sticking out of the earth like daggers.

They all got off Appa quietly, not saying a word as they walked down on the ashy ground. Eira looked around, horrified. She had already felt the Fire Nation before and seen it on the show, and she had thought she couldn't be surprised by anything they did anymore, but this? This was awful.

Aang looked just as horrified.

"Listen..." Sokka said as he looked around. "It's so quiet. There's no life here."

"Aang? Are you okay?" Katara said, noticing his horrified expression. Eira noticed something and knelt down to examine it. Footprints.

"The Fire Nation were here." She confirmed and Sokka clenched his fists in anger.

"Fire Nation! Those evil savages make me sick! They have no respect for-" Sokka growled.

"Sokka!" Katara snapped, successfully silencing him.

"What?!" He yelled. "Am I not allowed to be angry?" His voice became quieter as he said the last part. All Eira could do was just stare at the ashy ground and behind her she saw Aang slump over and fall to the ground.

He picked up some ash and let it fall out of his hand.

"Why would anyone do this? How could I let this happen?" He said sadly.

"Aang, you didn't let it happen. This has nothing to do with you." Katara said, trying to cheer him up.

"But it has everything to do with me!" Aang yelled with unexpected anger. His face turned even sadder. "It's the Avatar's job to protect nature. But I don't know how to do my job."

"That's why we're going to the South Pole. To find you a teacher."

"Yeah. A waterbending teacher. But there's no one who can teach me how to be the Avatar. Monk Gyatso said that Avatar Roku would help me." He explained.

"And he will. As the Avatar, you should be able to contact your past lives. Right?" Eira said.

Aang turned to face her, confused. Then he dropped his head.

"Yeah, that sounds like what Gyatso said but... I don't know how."

* * *

Aang was still sitting in the same place when Eira found a way that could cheer him up. She walked over to him carefully and sat down next to him.

"Hey, Aang. Are you ready to be cheered up?" She asked sweetly.

"No." He said as he turned away. Eira stuck out her hand and presented the acorn in her hand. He looked back and looked at her quizzically.

"An acorn?" He asked, staring at Eira.

"Yep. You'd be surprised what an acorn can do. This forest isn't destroyed, Aang. It's just being reborn. There's already one acorn, there are many more here. Soon enough, saplings will grow, and then the trees will tower here over and remove any trance of destruction. The birds and animals will come back. The earth will regain its colour, it will become healed." Eira twirled the acorn in between her fingers and then placed it into Aang's hand.

"Once, when I was nine, I was walking through a forest and I saw a bunch of acorns. I collected them all in a bag and I kinda forgot about it, for a year. That bag was full of acorns for a _year_! When I looked back into it, guess what?"

"What?" Aang asked, curious of where this story was going.

"A tree was growing. The acorns had sprouted and if an acorn can grow in a bag. They can grow here, right?"

The younger airbender gave an amused smile and looked down at the acorn in her hand.

"It's just like the airbenders, you know." Eira said. Aang faced her, confused by the teen's statement. "They're not gone forever. We're just the acorns now." Eira looked at Aang and gave him a comforting hug. "It'll be okay, I'll make sure of it."

"Thanks, Eira." He said happily, genuinely cheered up.

"Hey, who are you?" Sokka asked as an old man approached. He looked weak and used a knobbled, wooden walking stick to help him walk. He wore a brown fur cape and a darker brown robe. His wrinkled face was half covered by his long grey beard and his balding hair was just as long.

"When I saw the flying bison, I thought it was impossible!" The old man said as he ran over. "But, those markings ... are you the Avatar, child?"

Aang looked to Katara as if asking whether it's alright to answer, she nodded and using that Aang nodded as well.

"My village desperately needs your help!"

* * *

They were all in the Senlin Village with the old man and the village looked awful. It reeked of destruction with destroyed and slashed buildings. The remaining buildings were dull and had the typical green tiled roofs of the Earth Kingdom.

The man escorted then into the biggest building there, the town hall, and as soon as they entered he yelled out to the people in there.

"This young man is the Avatar." He said, gesturing to Aang.

Another man walked towards them and bowed to him.

"So, the rumours of your return are true! It is the greatest honour of a lifetime to be in your presence." Aang smiled and bowed in return.

"Nice to meet you too! So ... is there something I can help you with?" He asked.

"I'm not sure..." The younger man turned to the old one who had led them in there and gave him a quizzical look. The old man walked up next the younger one and started to explain.

"Our village is in crisis, he's our only hope!" He said the other man, and then he turned to Aang. "For the last few days at sunset, a spirit monster comes and attacks our village. He is Hei Bai, the black and the white spirit."

Eira then remembered what was going on. This was the Winter Solstice episode and she didn't know whether it was a good or bad thing that she could never really remember that episode. Just the basic plot.

"Why is it attacking you?" Sokka asked, arms crossed and confused.

"We do not know, but each of the last three nights, he has abducted one of our own. We are especially fearful because the winter solstice draws near." The younger man explained.

"What happens then?" Katara asked.

"As the solstice approaches, the natural world and the Spirit World grow closer and closer until the line between them is blurred completely." He said.

"But can't you just try and figure out _why_ Hei Bai is angry? From what I can guess, sprits are very environmental so wouldn't he be upset if, I dunno, a forest was burnt down?" Eira said, frustrated that they hadn't appeared to have even tried to understand why a spirit was attacking and kidnapping people.

"Wh-Who are you?" The man asked, surprised at her knowledgeable answer. She brushed the man's question aside and continued to pursue her point.

"When was the forest burnt down?" She asked.

"Uh, four days ago."

"And you never thought this out? How the attacks are most likely due to the burnt forest?" The man backed up and looked almost intimidated by Eira.

"Anyway," He said, eager to switch the conversation back towards Aang. "Hei Bai is already causing devastation and destruction. Once the solstice is here, there's no telling what will happen." Aang still looked confused.

"So what do you want me to do exactly?" He asked. The old man answered.

"Who better to resolve a crisis between our world and the Spirit world than the Avatar himself? You are the bridge between man and spirits." He gestured widely and excitedly with his hands as he spoke.

"Right… that's me." Aang said, obviously unsure about it all.

"Hey! Great bridge guy, could I talk to you over here for a second?" Katara called Aang over. They shared a conversation by the window and Eira just looked around while they had their heart-to-heart talk. People were walking around, agitated and nervous as sunset was fast approaching.

Eira was hit with another moment where she wished that she could just tell everyone what to do to fix the problem without all of the troubles but, Aang needed to learn this lesson first.

"So… Can you help these people?" She heard Katara ask.

"I have to try, don't I?" Aang asked, still unsure but determined to at least try.

"I think you can do it, Aang." Katara said with a warm, kind, reassuring smile. Aang's tension eased as he looked at Katara with a smile.

"You _can_ do it." Eira confirmed.

"Yeah…" Sokka said with a similar, warm expression. "We're all going to get eaten by a spirit monster."

* * *

After another couple of minutes, the sun was setting behind the half-burnt forest and Aang was standing awkwardly in front of the town entrance.

"Hello, Spirit? Can you hear me? This is the Avatar speaking. I'm here to try and help stuff." He yelled loudly. Eira could barely stand it. It was so awkward and cringe-worthy.

"This isn't right. We can't sit here and cower while Aang waist for some monster to show up." Sokka complained as they all watched him walk around.

"If anyone can save us, he can." The old man said. Eira could tell that even he had some doubts about this. Aang was just twelve years old and he was asleep for a hundred years, he had no experience with spirits. He's luckier than most, growing up with the Air Nomads but he still didn't have enough time.

The sun finally set and the sky turned dark and Aang looked around.

"Hei Bai? The sun has set. Where are you? Well….Spirit…uhhhh…. I hereby ask you to please leave this village in peace." He span his staff around and stuck it down in the ground, in apparent authority. And nothing happened… "Well, okay… I guess that's settled, then."

He began to walk away but then Hei Bai faded into existence behind him. It was a monstrous creature with four main limbs and two thinner, spindly arms by its neck. It was monochrome with a black and white colour scheme and its face was lizard-like and fanged and, oh yeah, IT WAS ATTACKING!

Aang turned around to see it and the Spirit released a burst of blue energy towards him and moved past him, wreaking havoc, smashing buildings and teleporting in between attacks and destroying a tower with its blue beam of death. Eira ducked under the window and Hei Bai passed and slashed through a building.

"My name's Aang! I'm the Avatar and I would like to help. Hey, wait up!" They heard Aang yell as he attempted to calm Hei Bai down, using his glider to move around faster.

"The Avatar's methods are…unusual." The old man commented as they all watched.

"They're not working, we need to help him, or do you want Hei Bai to annihilate your village?" Eira said pointedly. Before anyone could stop her, she ran out, Sokka following but the man managed to stop him.

"It's not safe!" He insisted.

"Hey, Hei Bai!" Eira yelled, trying to distract the Spirit.

"Eira, what are you doing?" Aang yelled as she ran up to the monster. Eira ignored him and continued.

"Spirit, the villagers aren't the cause for your forest's destruction. Please stop this no-" She was cut off quickly as Hei Bai grabbed her with one of his smaller arms, knocking the air out of lungs.

"Eira!" She heard Aang yell as he followed them on his glider. The spirit ran through the forest at such a speed her scarf flew off, sending her pale hair flying in a mess as the wind tore through it.

"Hey!" She exclaimed as she attempted to release the Sprit's grasp. "Aang! I'm over here! Help!" She yelled as she saw Aang in the distance.

"Hang on!" He yelled back as he got closer. He pulled his hand out and reached out to grab Eira's hand but as soon as he tried to make contact, the world faded into black and Eira was sent falling.

As she fell she felt a huge gust of wind grab her and sent her flying sideways out of the darkness. She landed hard on a patch of purple-ish grass and she was quickly covered in dirt, which was annoying as she was glowing and spiritual, not physical yet she could still get dirty. It wasn't fair.

She stood up and dusted herself off and looked around. She was in the spirit world, standing in a lush field of purple flowers under a yellow sky, and it confused her. Didn't Sokka not know what had happened, if so, wouldn't she be in some sort of temporary stasis until Aang calmed Hei Bai?

Another gust of wind blew and it swirled around Eira, forcing her to raise her arm to try and protect her face from the dust. When she opened her eyes again, she saw them. The two sprits from that dream on Zuko's ship.

Fear shot through her as she remembered the intense pain that dream had caused when the spirits attacked, so she studied them and tried to steady her shaking hands. They were a man and a woman, both very attractive and tall with serene expressions on their faces. They both flickered as if they had no substance, even for spirits.

"Welcome Eira, we are Fei Lian and Fengi Yi. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, young airbender." Their voices, deep and high, blended together and floated on the wind like gentle breezes.

"Okay… Wait, how do you know my name, and that I'm an airbender?" Eira asked, thoroughly confused with all of this.

"We know you, because we are the guardians of airbending. You know of Tui and La, we are the air counterparts." They answered calmly.

"Does that mean you know how I got here?" Eira said excitedly, maybe they had the answers she needed.

They paused before answering.

"Yes… We brought you to this world." Those words felt like they physically struck her and her blood boiled. These spirits were the reason she had suffered all of this?!

"What?! WHY?!" She asked, furious at them.

"Because this world needed you." They simply said.

"Explain further, and no cryptic bullcrap." Eira growled, fists clenched.

"This world has suffered greatly at the hands of the Fire Nation. They wiped out all of the airbenders until all that was left was the Avatar. We needed to restore balance."

"Couldn't you just wait until Aang had kids or something, or use those spirit powers of yours that you used to give me airbending to give some people in this world airbending?!" Eira said, angry at how calm they were. Their expressions still hadn't changed through this entire conversation.

"No-one in this world had the capability to hold the airbending spirit anymore, and as the Avatar there is no guarantee he will have any airbending kin." They answered simply.

"But why me?! Of all people in my world, why me?! I was happy in my old life. I wasn't constantly on the run from fire throwing maniacs, I didn't have to travel in a world I had no idea about how to live in, a life where people didn't stare at me or target me because of my hair colour!" Eira yelled angrily, why her? Of all people, why her?

"You seemed to fit the role."

"Explain further!"

"You are a female, around the age of the Avatar. You already know of this world and you know a lot about it. You also know enough forms that would help you learn airbending without problems."

"THAT WAS WHY?! BECAUSE I WATCHED A SHOW THAT I COULDN'T HAVE POSSIBLY KNOWN WAS ANOTHER UNIVERSE AND THAT I COULD BE SENT INTO WITHOUT ANY NOTICE?!"

"There is no need to yell at us. You have much more opportunities here and you will live a much more fulfilled life here. You have already befriended the Avatar and guided him. You have already managed to help him with his goal. You are happier here."

"HAPPIER?! I WOULD BE HAPPIER IF YOU JUST SEND ME HOME, NOW!" Tears were now starting to form in Eira's blue eyes. She was singled out and targeted in this world. She would never fit in and truly be happy here, she just… she just wanted to go home and see her family, her friends. She just wanted her life back.

"It is not within our power to send you back. We could bring you in through the spirit world, but it is a one-way system. You can't go back." Eira's tears and angry stopped and faded into emptiness. Their words… No they couldn't be true, there had to be a way. Th-There just… had to.

"Wh-What do you mean… I can't… go back?" Eira asked, her voice quivering and quiet.

"It is not within our power to send you back." No… No… This wasn't happening. In shock, Eira just ran. She had to run away from those two monsters, the ones who had ripped her away from everyone she loved. Maybe this was the pain her dream had predicted, in any case Eira would've preferred that physical pain to this heart-breaking emotional pain.

She ran and ran, tears streaming down her face and thankfully the spirits didn't follow, she was allowed to run and run until she couldn't run anymore.

Eira was disorientated from the entire experience, not focusing on where she was running as thoughts, angry and sadness swirled around her head, creating enough pressure to make her feel like her head was about to burst.

How could they expect her to be happy?! Seeing the A:TLA world had been a dream of hers but not like this, not with no way back. And she had no way back.

Her emotions overwhelmed her and she just fell to the ground, clutching her head and screaming in frustration. She screamed for hours until her voice became hoarse and silent and she cried until she just, couldn't.

Eira opened her eyes, feeling empty and alone and realised that she was in the real world. She was still glowing and translucent but she could see Iroh and earthbending soldiers.

"_Cachu!_" Iroh probably just saw her mental breakdown, she turned to see him staring at her with a concerned and confused look until a guard asked him what he was looking at.

Eira ran away from him and felt embarrassed beyond measure. She had gone full on breakdown and Iroh saw it. She needed to get back to her body, it didn't matter how broken or empty she felt, she needed to get out of the spirit world.

Taking deep breaths she began to walk back to the village. It was a long, awful walk. Eira felt weighed down by the emotional torment she had been through and it took until sunset to arrive there.

As she got there she saw Aang talking to Hei Bai. He stood strong in the face of the monster and presented the acorn Eira had given him.

"You're the spirit of this forest! I understand now. You're upset and angry because your home was burned down. When I saw the forest had burned, I was sad and upset, but my friend gave me hope that the forest would grow back." He placed the acorn at the feet of the Spirit and backed away. "Nothing's really gone forever." He said as the spirit picked it up and faded into the form of a giant panda as it walked away peacefully. As it walked past the entrance, a little collection of bamboo branches sprouted and three villagers walked out of it. They all looked disorientated and Eira felt herself fade back into the real world somehow walk out of the branches as well.

"Eira!" She heard Sokka and Katara yell as they embraced her in a warm hug.

"Hi guys… I'm back." She said, voice quivering.

"You were trapped in the Spirit World for twenty four hours! How are you feeling?" Katara asked, the worry clear on her face.

"I-I'm…" What exactly could she say? _I'm broken inside and feeling quite crap actually._ No, right now she needed to be strong. For her friends. "I'm alright."

The visibly relaxed and Eira turned to see Aang walk up and hug her, but he looked sad and she didn't know why. Luckily the man from before came up to show his gratitude.

"Thank you, Avatar. If only there was a way to repay you for what you've done." He thanked as he bowed.

"You could give us some supplies, and some money." Sokka said bluntly.

"Sokka!" Katara exclaimed, elbowing him in the ribs.

"What? We need stuff." He said defensively. The man bowed again.

"It would be an honour to help you prepare for your journey." And he walked away to gather the supplies.

Eira tried to smile but she couldn't, she was still thinking about what was happening to her. She waved away Katara and Aang's concerns and left to see Appa. She walked through the village and the bison nuzzled her as she approached.

Eira rubbed his head affectionately and sighed.

"Hey, Appa. Sorry I've been away so long. Do _you_ know what I should do?" Appa gave her a low groan and Eira rubbed his head again. "Me neither… How would I explain to them that I'm from another world?" She was going off into a soliloquy and began to ramble until she spotted Aang approaching.

"Hey, Aang." She said, trying for a cheery tone.

"Hi, Eira. So, how are you?" He asked.

"I've already told you, I'm fine." Eira persisted. _Lie. Lie .Lie .Lie. Lie. Lie. _She thought guility.

"I found your scarf." He said as he presented her with the blue material.

"Thanks, Aang." She said as she took the scarf and wrapped it around her head.

Aang looked uncomfortable as if he was wondering whether or not he should say what he was thinking.

"When I was in the spirit world, I kind of, uh, saw you." He said and Eira's face flushed. When did he see her?

"And I heard you talking with some spirits and they said something about, you coming from another world… Is it true?"

"Aang…" Eira began. "I'll tell you when Katara and Sokka are here as well, it's not something I want to repeat." He nodded and looked at her sadly.

"Okay, you don't need to say anything is you don't want to."

"No, it's okay. It's something I need to get off my chest anyway." She insisted.

* * *

"So you're from another world?" Sokka gasped, his face full of shock. All three of them looked surprised but also like they understood as well.

Eira nodded. She was ready to tell them about where she came from. But she would never tell them about the TV show. They don't even know what TV is so how the heck could she explain that. No, that was a secret she would keep 'til the grave.

"I don't fully understand it but the spirits of airbending apparently decided I would be good as an airbender instead of just living in my world." She explained and couldn't help but feel bitter.

"I guess that explains why you fell out of the sky. We're so sorry, Eira. But on the bright side, you still have us." Katara said.

"Thanks, Katara. I'm lucky to be with you guys and I love travelling with you guys. It's just been kind of a shock. I don't want you guys to worry about me and I want to help Aang defeat the Fire Lord." And to her surprise it was true. She did love being with them and she _did_ want to help them defeat the Fire Lord.

But she also wanted to go home, but after she calmed down. Things seemed better. She didn't blame Aang for what happened and she would do whatever she could to help him.

"Talking about defeating the Fire Lord, I've found a way to contact Roku's spirit." Aang mentioned. Katara smiled at him.

"That's great!" She said, unaware of the _how._

"Creepy, but great." Sokka said.

"There's a temple on a crescent-shaped island and if I go there on the solstice, I'll be able to speak with him." He explained.

"But the solstice is tomorrow, how will we get there in time?" Katara exclaimed.

"Yeah, and there's one more problem." He started, rubbing his neck anxiously. "The island is in the Fire Nation."

* * *

**THEY KNOW! GAHHHHHHH! **

**Anyway, I hope you liked this and thank you for reading.**

**While Eira is fine with telling them about where she comes from but knowing about their futures and saying millions of people watch them. That would be crossing the line a bit.**

**Love you guys and please review!**

**3**


	16. Chapter 16- The Winter Solstice

**I'm back people! Sorry for the delay, exams and revision are too time-consuming so I took a long time to write this but, I hope you like.**

**Thank you for reading and please review!**

* * *

Chapter 16: The Winter Solstice

* * *

"So, in your world were there any benders?" Katara asked with intrigue. The two Water Tribe siblings seemed fascinated by the prospect of the other world Eira came from.

"No, there was no bending, no spirit world, no nothing. Except we were a bit more technologically advanced than you were, I guess we had to make up for it somehow." Eira explained as they walked, it was nice to be able to talk about it but it caused her homesickness and anger at those spirits to increase.

She was still trying to register all that they said. But she refused to believe there was no way back. After she helped Aang defeat the Fire Lord she would devote her time to trying to find a way back. She needed to see her family again.

"Wow!" Katara gasped under her breath.

"Did you have huge killer machines of death that threw beams of death?!" Sokka asked enthusiastically as he made exaggerated, sharp motions with his hands to simulate a killer robot.

"No, nothing like that, just little things to help make lives easier. It's hard to explain." Eira smiled at Sokka's enthusiasm, it was funny how excited he was about a world nowhere near as exciting as theirs.

"Look I'm sorry but they aren't coming to the Fire Nation with us." Eira perked up and looked around to locate the voice. It was Aang.

She located the voice and moved silently towards it, Katara and Sokka following in tow.

"If they got hurt I'd never forgive myself. So get your big butt of the ground and let's go!"

"I think his big butt is trying to tell 'ya something." Sokka said as they all popped into view. Aang gasped as he looked over his shoulder and saw them. His huge grey eyes even wider in shock.

A big collection of Senlin villagers had gathered behind them, carrying supplies.

"Aang, what are you thinking?" Eira exclaimed as she saw him, preparing to leave without them.

"Please, Aang. The world can't afford to lose you to the Fire Nation. Neither can I." Katara said. Her face was pleading and sad.

Aang looked away sadly as he apparently remembered something threatening.

"But I have to talk to Avatar Roku to find out what my vision means!" Aang approached his friends and gestured nervously with his hands. "I need to get to the Fire Temple before the sun sets on the solstice. That's today!"

Aang jumped high using his airbending and landed on top of Appa's head. He looked back at them with a sad expression and prepared to leave but Katara, Sokka and Eira stood in his way.

Eira looked at him stubbornly, crossing her arms.

""You're mistaken, Aang." She said.

"If you think you're going without us." Sokka finished. "We've got your back." Momo flew up to Aang and perched on his shoulder and Appa showed his affection by licking Sokka with his big, wet tongue. "Ewwwww!" He complained.

Eira jumped up onto Appa and helped pull Sokka and Katara up onto the saddle. She rested herself next to some bags and prepared for the inevitable take-off.

The Senlin Village Leader walked up to Appa and handed Aang a small bundle.

"It's a long journey to Crescent Island. You'll have to fly fast to have any chance of making it before sundown. Good luck."

Aang grabbed the bundle and turned to him to show his gratitude.

"Thank you for your-" He began but the leader cut him off sharply and pointed towards the ocean.

"Go!" He yelled, and with a sharp flick of the reigns Appa slammed his tail down and flew off quickly into the sky. Leaving Senlin village behind them until it was nothing but a dot on the horizon.

* * *

Daybreak arrived quickly and they all looked at the ocean fearfully. They weren't moving fast enough.

"Come on boy, we've got a long way to go. Faster!" He flicked the reigns again and Appa began to gain speed. Eira held onto her scarf as the wind and speed threatened to rip it from her head.

Eira tried to consult her memory for what happens next, she remembered that it wasn't good and had something to do with the Fire Nation, but when it came to the Winter Solstice episodes her memory never seemed to work.

They sped through the clouds and within hours they were approaching the islands, but that was when she and Sokka decided to look back.

"Aang, Zuko's ship, behind us!" Eira yelled to him as she looked down at the fast approaching metal ship below them. She had thought that they hadn't seen Zuko in a while, and now he seemed to want to make up for the lost time.

"It's gaining fast!" Sokka yelled, looking panicked. Katara looked at it and her face fell. In a second the ship threw a flaming projectile at them.

"Fireball!" She yelled as they all ducked to hug the saddle.

"I'm on it!" They heard Aang yell as Appa made a sickening turn and dodged the fireball just in time. As it went past them, they caught the smell of the smoke and Eira went to cover her nose with her scarf in a vain attempt to block the noxious smell.

"We have to get out of range, they have a lot of those and I personally, don't want to smell any more of them." Eira yelled.

"Can you make Appa go any faster?" Sokka said, still trying to avoid smelling the fumes.

"Yeah, but there's one little problem." Aang said nervously as they all turned to see what the "little" problem was.

"Zhao's blockade!" Eira gasped in horror. About twenty metal ships lined up in a row and Eira knew that Zhao was on one of them and where he was, absolutely nothing good came out of it. She moved up to get nearer to Aang. "We need to charge this now before they can ready their strikes against us."

"This is why I didn't want you to come! It's too dangerous!" He groaned and he tightened his grip on the reigns.

"Why do you think we're here?" Eira asked with a smile.

"Appa, yip yip!" He yelled and Appa roared before flying faster than ever before, flicking his massive tail to gain more propulsion. They charged forwards and the boats were becoming bigger and bigger as they got closer. They were almost there when the sky suddenly filled with fireballs.

They littered the sky and came crashing down on them like meteors from the sky. Aang, Sokka, Katara and Eira screamed as they barrelled down on them, Aang tugging at the reigns like a madman to try and get Appa to swerve in time to doge them.

Appa evaded them as swiftly as possible, leaving some to explode as they made collision with each other. Era gripped the side of the saddle with all of her strength as Appa's manoeuvring threatened to send her flying into the sky.

Appa flew through an exploded fireball, leaving his fur singed and darkened and Eira, despite the difficulty of moving, went to pat it out.

Appa roared in pain as they went to pat out his singed fur.

"Appa, are you okay?" Aang said, worried for his friend. Appa roared a reply and flew up above the cloud cover. As they made their way out of the clouds, as did more fireballs.

Everyone screamed and gripped the saddle as they came out of the cloud cover and attacked them, Appa having to move quickly but the surprise got to them and two exploded in front of him. The explosion forced Sokka out of his grip and he flew out of the saddle.

"Sokka!" Eira screamed as she moved to grab his arm, being just short she grabbed Katara's arm and jumped up to reach him. She managed a firm grasp on his arm and pulled herself and the screaming Sokka back onto the saddle.

The two teens grabbed desperately to the saddle and held on for dear life as Appa flew down, gaining speed.

He broke through the clouds and fireballs were, once again, sent flying at them. Being closer now, Appa skimmed the ocean water and twisted to dodge them, but one was sent flying directly at them, impossible to dodge. Aang leapt of Appa's head, foot outstretched towards the projectile and with his airbending, Aang blasted it apart. He fell back to Appa, Sokka and Katara steadying him and Appa flew, barrelling past the ships.

Eira was gasping in shock as they sailed safely over the blockage and through the blue skies, leaving the fireballs behind them.

As the sun was beginning to set, everyone was getting visibly tired and when they finally landed on the Crescent Island and got off, Appa just rolled over and relaxed.

The air in the island was steamy from the heat of the lava, spewing volcano and the elegant, multi-story temple sat neatly next to it. It looked gorgeous with red tiled, curved roofs with golden accents and white pillared supports holding them up.

"Wow…" Era gasped. Despite their situation she couldn't help but marvel at the architecture.

"You did it buddy. Nice flying." Aang said, rubbing the exhausted bison's head. Appa bellowed in satisfaction and waved three legs in the air lazily as his tongue flopped out.

Katara approached Appa and rubbed his belly, smiling sweetly.

"Awww, you must be tired." She said in a babying voice, but Sokka who was standing a bit away next to Momo, stretching thought it was directed at him.

"No! I'm good. Refreshed and ready to go fight some firebenders." He said, continuing to work out. Both Eira and Katara gave him an unamused look.

"I was talking to Appa." Katara said dryly. He looked shocked and embarrassed and in an attempt to save face he turned to Momo, arms crossed defensively.

"Well… I was, talking to Momo!" He pointed to Momo who was hanging upside down on a dead tree.

After sharing a laugh at Sokka's failed attempt at being dignified Eira stared up at the temple, as did Aang.

"We better get moving." Eira said as they all started to walk up the grey stone path to the multi-storied temple. They all looked around anxiously and it was until a while before Sokka spoke aloud what everyone was thinking.

"I can't see any guards." He said, looking around.

"Maybe the Fire Nation abandoned it when Avatar Roku died." Katara suggested as they walked up to the door.

"It's almost sundown! We have to hurry!" Aang yelled as they approached the grey staircase and charged for the main door. Opening the main door as quietly as possible and tip-toed into the main hall and through a metal pathway with columns with fire-like décor.

Sokka stopped in his tracks and they all did the same and turned to face the corridor they used to enter the main hall.

"Wait! I think I hear something." Sokka said as he turned around slowly. Eira turned around and saw five old men in red, layered robes tied with a black sash tied around them and they also wore weird, tall red, rounded hats.

"We are the Fire Sages. Guardians of the temple of the Avatar." The one in the centre said. Eira slowly back up, trying not to make any sudden movements.

"…Aang…" She said slowly as she backed up. He promptly ignored her and looked at them cheerfully.

"Great! I am the Avatar!" He said as he moved towards them.

"We know." The Sage answered as they all shifted into a firebending stance.

"Aang!" Eira yelled as she grabbed Aang and pulled him away. She managed to pull him away in time to dodge the colossal fire streams aimed at them.

Aang grabbed his staff and twirled it around creating a slash of air and wiping the Sages off their feet.

"Come on! Let's go!" Eira yelled as she sprinted down another corridor, Katara, Aang and Sokka following. Aang skidded in front of them and ran down another hall, only to quickly sprint out of it, screaming.

"Follow me!" He yelled, ruining their chances of being not heard.

"Do you even know where you're going?" Sokka asked as they ran.

"Nope!" Aang replied as he turned as corner, and immediately sprinted back out.

"Wrong way!" He yelled as he ran past them and a Sage went after them.

"Come back!" The Sage yelled as they ran away. They rounded the corner at full speed and they ran into a dead end.

"Crud!" Eira cursed as she turned around, frantically looking for a way out. She turned to the walls and moved the lamp. As the lamp fell down a panel opened. But where was the thing the Sage pushed to open it. Eira tried to find the way that Sage managed to open it but then the Sage walked up to them. They backed up nervously.

His hands were raised in a gesture of peace and looked worried.

"I don't want to fight you! I am a friend." He said that as his eyes constantly shifted around.

Sokka stepped forwards angrily.

"Firebenders aren't our friends." He said as Aang stepped forwards in an airbending pose. The Sage didn't look shocked but what he did next shocked them. He bowed down to the floor in front of Aang, pressing his palms to the floor in submission.

Aang stepped back in shock as the man bowed down.

"I know why you're here Avatar." He said.

"You do?!" Aang said in surprise.

"Yes. You wish to speak to Avatar Roku's spirit. I can take you to him." He said, getting up.

"Aang, he's telling the truth." Eira piped up. Aang turned to her sceptically.

"If he was on the Fire Lord's side would he bow to you?" She asked. "People in the Fire Nation have too much pride to do something like that to their enemies." She explained as she turned to the wall that she had uncovered.

"Now, you. How do you open this?" She asked bluntly to the Sage. He walked up to it and placed a hand on the opening and with a burst of firebending the door slid open rustily, giving off a horrible screeching noise.

Eira saw the opening and turned to face the Sage, she motioned to the pathway.

"After you." She said politely, making him go first so they didn't have to worry about him attacking from behind.

He walked in and Eira followed with Aang, Sokka and Katara walking after her. Sokka and Katara looked suspicious at first but they trusted Eira's judgement so they all went in.

They walked down the dark, fire-lit tunnel and the Sage's voice, who introduced himself as Shyu, echoed around the caverns a he explained things.

"Avatar Roku once called this temple his home. He formed these secret passages out of the magma." Eira looked around at the deep pools of molten rock as they walked, they emitted a lot of heat, but Eira thought it wasn't quite enough. Rock generally melted at 1200°c but it wasn't nearly that hot.

Eira zoned out for a while as Shyu explained things to Aang about the Sages and Avatar Roku and she looked around in amazement. If Avatar Roku used the magma to create these caverns, did that mean he was a lava bender? Technically lava is rock, not fire so did he combine his firebending and earthbending to control the lava, was that really what happened.

Eira's thoughts continued like this for a while as she speculated and theorised about bending and its sub-types until they got to a spiralling staircase. Shyu led them up it and once they got to the top Shyu was speaking to Aang about the sanctum where Avatar Roku's statue was.

"Once you're inside, wait for the light to hit Avatar Roku's statue. Only then will you be able to speak to him." He slid back a secret tile and they all climbed into the outer sanctuary.

It was another gorgeous room with a shiny red, polished floor and a tall set of doors with a silver accented red boarder and a doorway with five metal dragons twisted in front of a golden Fire Nation symbol. Columns were structured around with more metal dragons twisted around them.

It looked amazing and Eira was in awe. The architects in this world were absolute geniuses.

But Shyu looked at the doors in horror. He ran up to them and gasped.

"No!" Aang also approached the doors and couldn't see why Shyu was so horrified.

"Shyu, what's wrong?" He asked as he inspected the immense door.

"The sanctuary doors, they're closed!" He explained, still horrified.

Aang tugged at the doors uselessly and Eira and Katara looked at the door.

Katara turned to the old Sage.

"Can't you open them with firebending? Like you opened the other door?" She asked. Shyu reluctantly shook his head.

"No. Only a fully realised Avatar is powerful to open this door alone. Otherwise, the sages must open this door together with five simultaneous fire blasts." Eira pondered over it and Sokka was deep in thought, for once. It appeared he, like Eira, loved to know how things like this worked and Eira could almost see the gears in his brain turning as he tried to figure out how to fool it.

"Five fire blasts, huh?" He ponderously stated. His eyes lit up as an idea formed in his mind. "I think I can help you with that."

* * *

Sokka was pouring some oil from one of the lamps into some animal skin bags as Eira looked at the door.

_It must register both the heat from the firebending and some sort of spiritual energy as well._ She thought, remembering how the explosions of those bags didn't open the doors, despite the heat they created.

"This is a little trick I picked up from my father. I seal the lamp oil inside an animal skin casing, Shyu lights the oil soaked twine and," He presented one of the bags in his hands to everyone. "Ta da! Instant firebending."

Shyu looked impressed as did Katara.

"Wow, Sokka. You've really outdone yourself." Katara commented.

"This, actually might work." Shyu said as he looked at the bag.

Sokka got up and placed all five bags into the five dragon mouths.

"The other Sages will hear the explosion, so as soon as they go off, you rush in!" Shyu said to Aang as they all hid behind some columns.

Katara and Sokka hid behind a column to the right of the door with Eira and Aang hiding behind the one on left. Aang hid near the bottom and Eira decided to climb up the dragon twisting around so she could hide at the top, it'd also help her get the jump on anyone who attacked.

Eira looked over at Katara, who was hugging Momo and looking, concerned, at Aang.

"It's almost sunset. Are you ready?" She asked with Sokka kneeling down next to her.

"Definitely!" He confirmed with a nod.

Taking that as a signal to start, Shyu thrust a finger at the twine from the bags hanging out of the dragon's mouths. And a small stream of fire shot out and burnt the twine. Shyu ran behind another column and as the twine burnt up explosions filled the room.

Eira closed her eyes and hugged the column, averting her head to avoid the blast. Smoke filled the room and after a couple of seconds the smoke faded and Eira blinked her eyes open. The door wasn't open.

Aang ran up to it and tugged at the handle again. It still wouldn't open.

"It still won't budge!" He said in his surprise.

Eira stared at the door as she curled around the pillar and sat on the dragon thoughtfully.

"It didn't work." She heard Sokka say in disappointment.

Aang slumped to the floor and fell to his knees. Eira tried to look for a way to tell the time but if she had to guess, sundown had to be soon.

She saw Katara, Sokka and Shyu walk up to the door as Aang was getting angry. In frustration he began to slash at the door, letting blades of air strike it as he did.

"Why. Won't. It. Open?!" He said as he let out consecutive strikes against the door. Katara walked up and seized his arm.

"Aang! Stop!" Katara relaxed and let go of his arm. "There's nothing else we can do ..." Aang looked at her glumly.

"I'm sorry I put you through all of this for nothing." He said, staring at the floor sadly, his head bowed.

"But it's not for nothing." Eira said from her vantage point. Everyone turned to look up at her in surprise.

"Sure Sokka failed miserably," She began.

"Wait, but I-" Sokka began, trying to defend himself, but Eira pressed on.

"But as Shyu said, the other sages already heard the explosion and it _looks_ like it worked. If we send something in to create a shadow under the door, we can trick the sages into opening it." They all turned to each other and smiled.

Eira smiled as well as they all got into position.

* * *

Eira looked out of the corner of her eye as the other sages ran into the hall, beckoned by Shyu.

"Come quickly! The Avatar has entered the sanctuary!" He yelled. The lead Fire Sage walked up to him, looking quite annoyed and angry.

"How did he get in?"

"I don't know." Shyu answered swiftly. "But look at those scorch marks! And down there!" His acting was almost as bad as Katara and Sokka's, did no-one in this world know how to lie convincingly? Back home Eira could lie quite easily if the situation called for it.

Shyu pointed to the dancing shadow at the bottom of the door.

"He's inside!" The lead Fire Sage said, convinced by the act. "Open the doors, immediately! Before he contacts Avatar Roku!" He ordered.

Below her, Eira saw Aang shift into position and it reminded her that she also needed to get ready. She positioned herself so she would be able to leap down at the signal.

The five Fire Sages all got ready in firebending stances and shot fire from their palms and into the dragon mouths.

As the fire entered, the dragons shifted as well as the golden flames behind them. They spiralled down and slid open to reveal the inner sanctuary, and Momo. He looked at them with his big, innocent green eyes and as the confusion set in, Eira jumped.

She leapt down and focused on softening her landing and as she did she landed behind the sage in the middle. She reached out and grabbed his arm, twisting it behind his shoulder blade as Katara, Sokka and Shyu did the same to the remaining sages.

"Now, Aang!" Katara yelled but only silence. "Aang! Now's your chance." More silence and Eira was starting to struggle to keep the sage pinned.

And then Zuko came out from behind the column. He held Aang from behind , pinning his arms behind him.

"The Avatar's coming with me." He said in satisfaction, Eira was temporarily shocked and her grip on the sage weakened and he used that to spin himself out of her grasp and instead pin her arms behind her as the other sages did the same to their captors.

"Close the doors! Quickly!" Zuko ordered as he pushed Aang to some steps.

"No!" Eira yelled in frustration as she struggled against the sage. Aang looked back at the door desperately as she was being pushed against a column and being chained along with Sokka and Katara.

Aang broke free of Zuko and sent him crashing down the stairs with a blast of air. Aang ran towards them but Katara, seeing him run quickly turned her head to point to the sanctuary door.

"Go!" She yelled and Aang, without hesitation, charged towards the door, guarded by two of the sages. He leaped into the air to avoid the lead Fire Sage's fire punch and Aang twisted mid-air to bounce of the two sage's heads and sail through the door, avoiding the spikes on the inside of the doors just as it close.

"He made it!" Katara exclaimed happily as the doors sealed shut, Aang inside.

The door burst into a brilliant flash of white light and everyone adverted their eyes to avoid being blinded.

After the light faded the four sages still working for the Fire Nation, along with Zuko launched fire blasts into the dragon mouths but nothing happened and Eira couldn't help but smile. They weren't getting in.

"Why isn't it working, its sealed shut?" Zuko yelled in frustration. The lead Fire Sage looked, mystified, at the door.

"It must have been the light. Avatar Roku doesn't want us inside." He explained. Zuko let out a growl of frustration and he turned to Shyu, who was on his knees, hands behind his back.

"Why did you help the Avatar?" Zuko snarled.

"Because it was once the sages' duty. It is still our duty." He replied, both sadly and proudly.

Sharp, slow claps interrupted the interrogation and Eira turned to see Zhao striding up to the sages and Zuko, flanked by six firebender guards. His face twisted into his signature cruel grin.

"What a moving and heartfelt performance. I'm certain the Fire Lord will understand, when you explain why you betrayed him." His voice was cold and sinister. Eira scowled at him and then looked hopefully at the inner sanctuary doors. Aang will come soon.

The lead Fire Sage turned to the commander, palms clasped together and head bowed forwards.

"Commander Zhao." He said respectfully. Zhao paid him no notice as he approached Zuko.

"And Prince Zuko. It was a noble effort, but your little smokescreen didn't work." Zuko scowled at him as firebender guards stepped behind him and seized his arms. "Two traitors in one day," He turned to see Eira chained to the column and smiled sickly. "And the airbender, the Fire Lord _will _be please."

Eira's blood boiled as she looked at Zhao. She growled at him.

"Yeah, the Fire Lord _will_ be happy when he hears you got beaten up by a twelve year old kid." She taunted. "You're going to fail here, Zhao. Just like you're going to fail later. _Zhao y llofrudd lleuad. Zhao y concwerwr. Enwau sy'n cael eu colli._"

Zhao's smug face was quickly turned to an angry one. It was clear he hated the fact she taunted him in a language he didn't recognise or understand and that was enough to put a smile on her face.

Zhao sharply turned his head away from her and instead turned his attention to Zuko.

"You're too late, Zhao! The Avatar's inside and the doors are sealed."

"No matter." He said, his smug grin returning. "Sooner or later, he _has_ to come out." Eira growled at him again as Sokka and Katara exchanged a worried glance. It was true, and they knew it.

Zhao, his firebenders and the Fire Sages all positioned themselves in front of the door, ready to strike. The door glowed bright white again and smoke began to fill the room.

"Ready…" Zhao said as the doors opened and the light faded, leaving a pair of glowing white eyes burning in the darkness.

Next to her, Sokka was struggling against the chains, pushing at them which only served to tighten the chains around her, and Katara looked terrified.

"No! Aang!" She yelled as Zhao and his men unleashed their fire blasts on their unseen target.

The eyes flashed brighter and the Fire started to swirl around its new host, Avatar Roku. His stood tall and terrifying in front of them, his eyes glowing and his white hair swirling around him. His red Fire Nation robes reflected the orange flames dangerously and he looked unforgiving.

Zhao and his men looked horror-stricken and the Sages gasped in awe.

"Avatar Roku…" He drew the circling flames around him in a single motion and unleashed it against them, knocking the firebenders down and burning off the chains. Eira, Sokka and Katara were let go as well as Zuko. He ran off as the blast destroyed a side of the temple.

Avatar Roku's form turned ghostly and as he turned his glare to the other Sages, they ran off to avoid his wrath.

"Avatar Roku is going to destroy the temple! We have to get out of here!" Shyu implored but Katara shook her head adamantly.

"Not without Aang!" She insisted.

Roku stepped forwards and melted the floor with a molten firebending trail. He lifted his hand, causing the molten floor to erupt. The lava melted through the floor and it began to destroy the temple.

Sokka and Katara huddled together behind a column, Sokka protecting Katara in a brotherly fashion as Eira stared in terror at the lava as it began to creep towards them. It was going to kill them…

Eira turned to the Avatar Roku in horror but then then the destruction temporarily stopped. Roku lowered his arms and his eyes stopped glowing, all of the smoke it the room drew into Avatar Roku, his form vanishing and leaving behind a weary Aang.

He sighed weakly and dropped to his knees. They all ran up to him to supportively lift him back onto his feet.

"We've got your back." Sokka said supportively.

"Thanks. Where's Shyu?" He asked weakly as they walked off, helping him walk away.

"I'm not sure." Katara said as they walked off.

They turned to the stairs but looked in horror as they saw it melted and filled with lava.

They all quickly turned to the only exit left, the hole that Roku created but they suddenly realised that they were too high up. Aang was too weak and Eira wasn't experienced enough to protect them if they jumped out.

They all gasped as they saw Appa and Momo fly up to them. They ran out of the temple and Eira and Aang helped propel them into the air and land softly on Appa's saddle. Momo popped up, wearing one of the Sage's hats and mewing happily.

As they flew away from the temple, they looked back sadly as the lava had completely obliterated the once grand temple.

"Don't worry, Aang. It's okay. He'll be okay." Eira said, even though she was still full of doubt. Was Shyu going to be okay? Were they going to be okay? The Fire Nation was ruthless and there was no limit to their cruelty and sadly, there was more to come.

* * *

**A bit of a depressing ending but I had no idea how to end it any other way.**

**Love you guys for reading and please review!**

**3**


	17. Chapter 17-Pirates

**This will be my longest chapter yet, filled with action and explosions! Maybe not explosions but a lot of action.**

**I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

**Please review!**

* * *

Chapter 17: Pirates

* * *

Eira was sitting on Appa's saddle, watching the clouds fly past lazily as her eyes glazed over. She had spent the night constantly woken up by her nightmares. She still couldn't believe how close to death she had been yesterday. The lava was literally a couple of seconds from burning her, Sokka and Katara. To say the least, she didn't sleep very well.

Behind her Aang was pacing up and down the saddle, fretting about what Avatar Roku told him.

"Would you sit down?" Sokka asked as he turned around to look at Aang as he sat on Appa's head. "If we hit a bump, you'll go flying off."

"How could we hit a bump? We're in the sky." Eira asked and Sokka looked temporarily confused as he thought about it.

"We could hit a bird?" He finally said.

"Right."

"Anyway, what's bugging you?" Sokka asked as he turned his attention back to Aang.

"It's what Avatar Roku said. I'm supposed to master all four elements before that comet arrives." Aang said, obviously worried.

"Well, let's see." Sokka said in an amused, but sarcastic tone. "You pretty much mastered airbending and that only took you a hundred and twelve years. I'm sure you can master three more elements by next summer."

Wow… Next summer. Eira had already been in this world for weeks, that meant weeks for her parents and friends to worry about her, and in terms with her promise to herself and Katara, she'd be there for over a year. Time was another thing Eira didn't really have concept to thanks to the show. Everything was in a twenty minute episode and time-skips happened all of the time. Eira had no real idea of how long she'd have to be here.

As Eira had been thinking about this, she'd missed Katara offering to teach Aang waterbending, she just turned around to see Aang smiling dreamily at Katara with a mix of adoration and excitement.

"You'd do that?"

Katara nodded and smiled, her dark brown hair loopies waving around her face as she did. She looked over the side of Appa's saddle and scanned the ground beneath them.

"We'd have to find a good source of water first." She said as she looked down.

"Maybe the ocean, I think I spotted it a couple of miles back." Eira joked, pointing behind her and grinning.

"Or maybe we could find a puddle for them to splash around in." Sokka said sarcastically as he also grinned.

They searched for about half an hour before they spotted a small river and waterfall.

They landed in a secluded, sheltered area surrounded by walls of earth and rocks with a beautiful clear waterfall flowing into a shallow-ish river with dark green trees populating the borders of the area.

They all jumped off Appa and Sokka frowned as he looked at it while Aang and Katara looked ecstatic.

"Nice puddle." Sokka commented sarcastically and grumpily, resulting in a _friendly_ jab to the rips by Eira.

Appa flew up and landed in the river, creating a huge splash that showered Momo, knocking him off the rock he was sitting on. Appa then rolled over and floated on his back, relaxing after a long flight.

Eira walked up to Momo and picked him up, cuddling him affectionately.

"Aw, poor Momo." She said sweetly as she rocked him gently. He purred and climbed up her arm to perch on her shoulder, nuzzling her face as he did.

Behind her she saw Aang taking off his shirt and preparing to jump into the water.

"Yeah! Don't start the fun without me, boy!" He yelled, grinning cheerfully.

"Remember the reason we're here." Katara said, somewhat blankly, taking Aang out of his child-like excitement and instead placing him into an eager learning mode.

"Oh right. Time to practice waterbending." He said as he put his clothes back on.

Sokka looked at them, still frowning.

"Great. So what are Eira and I supposed to do?" He asked, still laying the sarcasm on think.

"You could…" Aang paused as he looked around, his eyes landed on a branch and he picked it up. "…clean the gunk out of Appa's toes." He said handing the brank to Sokka.

Sokka turned his pleading blue eyes to Eira, but Eira threw her arms up defensively. No way was she doing that.

"Nope. I've got airbending to practice." She said as she turned to sit underneath a shadowy tree.

Sokka frown became more pronounced and he crossed his arms, pouting.

"So, while you guys are playing in the water or moving air around, I'm supposed to be hard at work picking mud out of giant bison's feet?"

Aang smiled, still cheerful.

"Mud and bugs!" He added. There was a pause where Sokka was thinking it over but he eventually uncrossed his arms in acceptance and took the branch.

"Okay."

Eira giggled for a while before beginning to focus on her airbending. While she had managed to create a small ball of air back at the metal prison ship and manage to help Aang propel them up onto Appa, her airbending was still lacklustre to say the least. Since then she hadn't managed to create a puff of air. It was disappointing.

She went behind the trees and began to start preparing. She dropped her scarf from around her head to just around her neck so she could focus more on the wind around her.

It blew her hair around since she still couldn't find a replacement hair tie and she took a deep breath. She began to shift her stance like Aang had taught her and she also shifted her hands around, trying to manipulate the breeze to her will but nothing happened.

Just as she thought she did it, she mind wandered back to how her family was coping and that threw off her concentration.

She yelled out in frustration and sat down against a tree. It was like she was torn between two selves. One airbender and one normal girl who just wanted to go home. They seemed to conflict a lot.

"Why? Gah! I hate Feng Yi and Fei Lian or whatever your names are. This isn't cool!" She yelled, hoping they could hear her from the Spirit World.

After more time devoted to failing to manipulate a single breeze she gave up and headed back to the river.

She came back to see Aang creating a huge wave of water that rained down on Sokka, throwing him into the water. His head rose slowly from the water, clearly annoyed.

Aang smiled expectantly at Katara.

"Looks like I got the hand of that move! What else you got?"

"That's enough practicing for today." Katara snapped in response. It seemed a little too bitter for her character to do that but Aang didn't notice.

"Yeah, I'll say!" Sokka said, pointing to his left. "You've just _"practiced"_ our supplies down the river." They all turned to see several bags floating down the river quickly and Eira was so glad her bag was still next to the tree. It was quite expensive to get the paper and ink. Thankfully the money the Senlin villagers had given them was in her bag as well or they'd truly be stuck.

"Uh, sorry." Aang said guiltily, he then smiled worriedly. "I'm sure we can find somewhere to replace all of this stuff."

Eira walked up to them while Sokka was muttering under his breath in annoyance.

"Hey guys. I just saw your bending, that was impressive, Aang." She said. _I wish I could say the same for myself. _She added mentally.

* * *

They all retrieved the remaining supplies they had and packed them onto Appa. They followed the river to the ocean, leaving him behind to protect their stuff, and soon found a port town.

They wandered through their market as Aang and Sokka looked for supplies and Eira and Katara looked for some food.

"Katara, you know that it's not that bad if Aang did better back there." Eira said casually as she looked through some vegetables for something that appealed to her. Becoming vegetarian for Aang's sake was doing some damage to her stomach. Back home she was a huge fan of bacon and her father and her would go through at least six pieces each if it was being served, so right now she needed to find some food that she could happily eat.

Katara looked shocked and turned red slightly at her observation.

"Wh-What do you mean?" She stuttered nervously. Eira got up from the basket of some food she was looking at and turned to look at her friend.

"Just because Aang is learning faster than you, doesn't make you a bad waterbender. He's the Avatar. He's going to learn these things quickly if he's had to do it thousands of times in other lives." She said, smiling reassuringly at her. "Promise me that you'll remember that. Just think that once you get the North Pole, Aang could be calling you "Master Katara"."

"I will. Thanks, Eira!"

Katara smiled at the thought of "Master Katara" and they continued to search through the food, talking about random things and laughing at Katara and Eira's shared anecdotes about their respective siblings.

"Sokka actually managed to get his head trapped between some ice, for two days?! Ouch." Eira said in response to Katara's story. She had always wanted a brother, a younger one. It sounded fun.

They exchanged their money for the food and walked to the rendezvous point to meet up with Aang and Sokka.

* * *

"So that's three copper pieces left from the money that the Senlin villagers gave us." Sokka said, handing Eira their money pouch and their supplies.

"But there are only two in here." Eira said Sokka's confusion as she looked into the pouch.

"What?!" He exclaimed as he also looked at the remaining two copper pieces."

"Uh, Sokka." Aang said grabbing the Water Tribe teen's attention. "I spent a copper piece. I couldn't say no to this whistle." He pulled out a white whistle in the shape of an air bison.

He took a huge breath and blew into it, but other than the sound of his breath, there was barely a sound.

Eira looked at it with suspicion.

"How did you find an Air Bison whistle, Aang? Just like the airbenders, most people would think that the air bison are extinct." She asked as she picked up the strange whistle.

"I dunno, but it's awesome!" He said cheerfully as he grabbed the whistle back.

"But it doesn't even work!" Sokka said incredulously. Momo squawked at the whistle in apparent agreement. "See! Even Momo thinks it's a piece of junk."

"But animals can hear a lot higher frequencies of sound than humans. That whistle probably takes the same principles of a dog whistle and uses a frequency that air bison can hear, but not humans so they can use the whistle without causing discomfort to the nearby humans. Animals have higher ranges of hearing than us and they use that to their advantage." They all stared blankly at her as she rambled on.

Eira twiddled with her headscarf and turned red nervously.

"Sorry. I just, uh. I can ramble on sometimes." She stuttered. Katara nodded in understanding but Sokka and Aang still looked blankly at her. They clearly didn't understand a word she said about the whistle.

"Never mind."

They walked down the dock until they heard a man yelling just like an annoying salesmen.

"Earth Nation! Fire Nation! Water Nation! So long as bargains are your inclination, you're welcome here!"

As they walked past he walked up to them. He looked like he was from the Earth Kingdom, with a mainly green outfit, tanned skin and dark hair but he was definitely not typical with huge protruding lips and big, golden hooped earrings.

"Oh! You there, I can see from your clothing that you're world-travelling types. Perhaps I can interest you in some exotic curios?" He asked, mainly directing his attention to Aang as he was the youngest and, in this case, most gullible.

"Sure! What are curios?" Aang asked curiously.

"They're rare, unusual or intriguing objects that we _really_ don't have the space for." Eira explained as she began to pull Aang away from the man. "We're sorry but we really don't have space for any-"

"Come on, Eira. It could be interesting." Katara said as they all walked in, leaving Eira no choice but to follow. She hated how knowing how things will cause trouble for them later. It made her look like such a kill-joy.

Inside the big ship was wall-to-wall with strange items and weird objects. The whole room made her feel claustrophobic as it was so cluttered.

Eira began to fiddle nervously with her scarf as she looked around. A strange monkey statue with ruby eyes seemed to watch her eerily.

Aang was peering around, Momo curling around his shoulders as he did when a gravelly voice broke the silence.

"I've never seen such a fine specimen of lemur." A tall man wearing a big red and white, brimmed hat and a matching outfit walked into the light. The Pirate Captain. His face was wrinkled and cunning with a… iguana-parrot on his shoulder? Eira wasn't exactly sure but it looked like a parrot. "That beast would fetch me a hefty sum if you'd be interested in bartering."

Aang clutched Momo protectively.

"Momo's not for sale."

Eira walked over to a bunch of scrolls next to Katara and looked at one of them. The writing was a collection of Asian-looking characters but, for some reason she managed to understand it. As she looked at it her head hurt and she found that she could read it.

"Feng Yi, Fei Lian? Is this you?" She hissed under her breath as she rolled the scroll back up and placed it back in its slot.

She sighed. Relieved that she'd be able to read if the situation came up.

Next to her, Katara and Aang were looking excitedly at the waterbending scroll Katara had found.

"Check out these crazy moves." Katara said as she scanned the page intensely, determined to absorb everything on the page.

Eira saw Aang turn the captain with even more excitement than usual.

"Where did you get a waterbending scroll?" He asked.

The Pirate Captain slammed his hand on the scroll and pulled it away swiftly.

"Let's just say I got it up North, at a most reasonable price, free." A hint of a sly smile appeared on his face as he rolled the scroll up and put it back on the shelf.

Eira scowled and crossed her arms as Sokka turned around from examining the curios and looked at the captain from the other side of the room suspiciously.

"Wait a minute ... Sea loving traders, with suspiciously acquired merchandise," He began ponderingly, raising an eyebrow. "And pet reptile birds?!" he added, almost yelling. "You guys are pirates!" Sokka turned around to face the salesman (his name was Oh), almost spitting in his face.

Oh put an arm around Sokka's terrified shoulders and gestured to the merchandise.

"We prefer to think of ourselves as _"high risk traders"_."

Aang walked up to Eira and Katara next to the counter the Captain was now behind.

"So, how much for the, uh, _traded_ scroll?" Katara asked suspiciously.

"I've already got a buyer, a nobleman in the Earth Kingdom." The captain explained.

"What use would an Earth Kingdom nobleman have for this scroll?" Eira asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's a waterbending scroll."

The captain laughed.

"What do I care why they have it, as long as they give me the two hundred gold pieces they promised they can do whatever they want.."

Aang turned around a whispered to Eira.

"I know how to deal with these guys, Katara. Pirates love to haggle."

"Yeah, but how would you convince them to give away something that costs two hundred _gold_ pieces for two copper ones?" Eira hissed back.

"I can be very convincing." Aang persisted. Eira rolled her eyes and reluctantly handed him the two copper pieces.

"Fine."

Aang walked up to the counter and leant on it, smiling widely.

"Let's say the price of, one copper piece." He said in a pirate voice, dramatically flipping and presenting the single coin.

The pirates just laughed hysterically in his face.

"The price is two hundred gold pieces. I don't haggle on items this rare." The captain said with finality.

But Aang was still smirking like his next offer would cave them in.

"Okay, two copper pieces!" He said, shoving the next copper coin in the pirates face.

"It's not so amusing the second time, boy!" The captain growled, getting tired of Aang's persistence.

"Aang, we're getting out of here. Now!" Eira said sternly, seizing his arm and dragging away.

"Aye, we be casting off now!" Aang said, still in his pirate voice.

* * *

Once they got outside, Eira was getting annoyed at Aang.

"I'm sorry, Aang. But you've got to understand, pirates are dangerous and they _won't_ go easy on you just because you're twelve. They would kill you if they got the chance." She explained, trying to avoid acting like an over-protective mother, and failing.

"Yeah, Aang. We should leave this place. Now." Katara added as she walked briskly away from the pirate ship.

Eira looked back and saw Oh run out the ship and point at them in the crowd.

"Hey, you! Get back here!" He yelled.

Eira turned to Katara.

"Katara, did you-?" She began to ask but then a group of armed pirates jumped out of the boat and began to run towards, weapons pointed menacingly at Sokka, Katara, Aang and Eira.

"Never mind. Run!" Eira yelled as they all ran away down the docks. The pirates behind them split off and she heard Oh yelling.

"This way. Let's cut 'em off!"

They all turned a corner through the busy market and Sokka almost slipped on a puddle of ice that Katara bent at the pirates behind them, leading them to slip and crash into some stalls, leading to their stock flying everywhere.

Eira spotted the cabbage man walk out in front of them and she made sure that she avoided bumping into the cart, in fact they all did which was surprising, until Aang swirled his staff and blasted the cart towards the pirates, smashing it and all its merchandise.

The other group of pirates came round another corner and forced them to run down another alley.

"I hope that lemur of yours has nine lives." Eira heard a pirate yell as they chased them.

"That's cats!" Eira yelled back as they ran into a dead end. They turned around from the wall to face the pirates, all of which carrying huge, deadly weapons. Oh, in the centre, waved around his sword and pointed it at each of them in turn.

"Now, who gets to taste the steel of my blade first?"

"No thanks." Aang said as he spun around and hurled a blast of air at the pirates, knocking them backwards.

He opened his glider and ran towards them. "Grab on tight!" He ordered and the all huddled together. Eira and Aang both sent jets of air underneath them and they managed to fly over the pirates, Eira kicking one in the face in the process.

"Just hang on!"

* * *

When they landed back at camp, Eira was really tired. She slumped down next to a tree and Katara, Sokka and Aang stood near the shore.

"I used to kind of look up to pirates, but those guys are terrible." Aang admitted sadly as he looked in the direction of the market.

Katara smiled mischievously.

"I know. That's why I took this." She said, holding the waterbending scroll for them all to see.

"No way!" Aang exclaimed in surprise.

"Isn't it great?" Katara said with the usual excitement she had whenever they talked about bending.

"No wonder they were trying to hack us up! You stole their waterbending scroll!" Sokka yelled, gesturing wildly with her hands.

"Seriously, Katara. They were just about to kill us back there, why did you steal that thing?"

"They stole it from a waterbender, I'm just returning it." She explained.

"It doesn't matter. You put all of our lives in danger just so you could learn some fancy splashes." Sokka said.

"These are real waterbending forms. You know how crucial it is for Aang to learn waterbending!" She persisted defensively.

"And Aang is your reason for stealing that thing?" Eira asked quietly. Katara just looked away, no answer.

"Whatever." Sokka said as he walked over to Eira and the unpacked their supplies onto Appa's saddle.

"This is going to come back and bite us, isn't it?" He whispered to Eira and she sadly nodded.

"Undoubtedly, but right now we should just stay on our guards and make sure nothing happens to them."

Sokka nodded as they both looked at the two waterbenders behind them, both eager and excited to get started.

"They're going to be fine."

* * *

Eira was sitting on a tree branch casually eating a fruit of some kind, looking down as Katara studied the scroll intensely.

"I just want to try this one move first and then it's all yours" She explained as she handed the open scroll to Aang.

She moved closer to the water and looked at the scroll, mirroring her body into the starting position. "Here, hold it open for me. The single water whip. Looks doable"

She began to shift her body and the water rose up to mirror her, until she stumbled a bit and the water rebounded and hit her in the forehead.

"Ow!"

"Ha, ha, ha!" Sokka laughed as his sister rubbed her forehead in pain.

"What's so funny?" She asked, glaring at him.

"I'm sorry but you deserved it." He turned to Aang. "You've been duped. She's only interested in teaching herself."

"Aang will get his turn once I figure out the water whip." She said angrily. She tried again but her frustration threw her off and she hit Momo instead. Momo screeched at her and flew up to join Eira in the tree.

Eira reached out and stroked his head. He purred and then he reached into Eira's bag and stole some of the fruit she was eating.

"You'll get it." Aang said, trying to be helpful but Katara glared at him. "You just gotta shift your weight through the stances" He said as he flowingly moved around, the water complying with his every move and it lashed out at the open air. "There, see, the key to bending is-"

"Will you please shut your air hole? Believe it or not your infinite wisdom gets a little old sometimes! Why don't we just throw the scroll away since you're so naturally gifted?!" Katara screamed angrily. Sokka and Eira glared at her as Aang's face looked heartbroken.

"What?!" She snapped before looking at Aang's face. He now had tears in his eyes. Katara's eyes widened in horror at her own actions.

"Oh my gosh, Aang. I am so sorry. I don't know what came over me. But you know what, it won't happen again." She apologised, handing the scroll over to Aang. "Here. This is yours. I don't want to have anything to do with it anymore."

"It's okay, Katara." Aang said, accepting her apology.

"What about Momo?" Sokka asked pointing to Momo, who was curled up next to Eira. "He's the real victim here."

She looked up at Momo, who flew down to rest on her shoulder. She scratched his ear and he purred.

"I'm sorry, Momo." Katara apologised.

"What about me?" Sokka asked incredulously. "There was that time you-"

"No more apologies!" She snapped.

"Then if apologies are done, I'm going to start cooking." Eira said as she jumped down.

She reached into Appa's saddle for their cooking supplies and began to set everything up.

* * *

"Once again, you do not disappoint, Eira!" Sokka complimented as she finished the last of his food. Eira smiled at him.

"Thank you, Sokka. I'm just glad you like it. My sister wouldn't eat a thing I cooked for her."

"Well, since it was so great, we should be going to sleep now. We need to leave early." Katara explained. They all nodded and got into their sleeping bags.

With the fire still gently crackling in the fireplace and their stomachs full of food, they all drifted off the sleep almost immediately.

Eira went to sleep, hoping for no more nightmares and that Katara wasn't going to go out with that scroll but when some rustling she knew that she was wrong, at least for the last one.

Eira opened her eyes slightly and saw Katara sneak into her bag and take the scroll as she quietly walked away from the camp. After she was out of sight, Eira also got up quietly and followed.

She was next to the river, yelling out in frustration as she swung her arms around with the water only vaguely following.

"_I don't want to have anything to do with it anymore."_ Eira said, breaking the silence, quoting Katara from earlier. Katara stopped bending and turned to face a disapproving Eira.

"Eira, I-I-" She began, but Eira held up her hands to silence her.

"Katara, you need to stop. The fact that you're getting annoyed with Aang about bending is getting too far. You almost made him cry today."

"I know, but I need to-" She tried to explain.

"You need to cut this out before it gets out of hand. You _will_ master waterbending, I know you will, and I know you'll master it _before_ Aang because you work so hard, but right now he's a twelve year old kid with the weight of the world on his shoulders. You need to be supportive, even if it kills you inside."

Katara dropped her gaze to the floor, shamefully and Eira hugged her.

"It'll be okay, Katara." She reassured. Then a horrible noise cut through the air, like the sound of wood scraping across sand.

The two girls ran across to behind some bushes when they saw the pirate ship coming into shore. They both gasped when they saw the pirates but that was when a pirate grabbed them from behind.

"No! Let go of me!" Katara yelled as she bent some water against the pirate, forcing him to let go. Katara and Eira ran away from him but Katara was then grabbed again on the wrists by Zuko.

He glared at her and she stared frightfully back.

"I'll save you from the pirates." He growled.

"And I'll save you from Zuko." Eira said as she sent a punch at him and it blasted him back with a gust of air.

"Katara, come on! We need to save Aang and Sokka!" She yelled as they both ran towards the camp. Just as they approached the edge of the clearing they were in Eira was struck in the head with a club, immediately causing unconsciousness and pain as she drifted into darkness.

Eira's last coherent thoughts were remembering Katara screaming as she was finally caught.

Unconsciousness wasn't a pleasant place for Eira. She felt a mix of feeling no pain and all of the pain. Her dreams were swirled and reality sometimes got thrown in as well. Suffice to say, Eira was quite disorientated when she eventually woke up.

She was tied to a tree next to Katara and Zuko was standing in front of them and he was, holding Katara's necklace?

Eira groaned as her head throbbed in pain.

"Next time, can someone _not_ hit me in the head?" She muttered as dancing black spots flickered in her vision. She managed to look around and saw that she was surrounded by pirates and Fire Nation soldiers. Even more confusing.

"Enough of this necklace garbage! You promised a scroll!" Eira heard a gravelly voice yell from behind Zuko. It was the pirate?

"Katara… What happened just now?" She asked groggily but she came more into focus when Zuko's hand burst into flames under the scroll. The pirates all gasped and Zuko seemed to smile.

"…A lot apparently. Now you help me find what I want, you'll get this back and everyone goes home happy."

"What about us? We wouldn't go home happy." Eira added. Zuko turned around and scowled at her.

"They didn't hit you hard enough!" He growled. "Search the woods for the boy and meet back here!" He ordered to the pirates.

They all turned to scour the woods for Aang and Katara turned to Eira, looking worried.

"I'm sorry, Eira. If I hadn't taken that scroll… I'm sorry. How are you feeling?" She asked, her blue eyes glittering with motherly concern.

Eira tried for a smile.

"How does "like my head's been constantly hit with a rock for a year" sound?" She said, half joking.

After a couple of minutes of squinting in pain, really they never really describe how disorientating it is to be hit in the head and then knocked out, the pirates arrived with Aang and Sokka, both struggling against rope bindings.

"Nice work." Zuko said as he approached the pirates, scroll in hand.

"Aang, this is all my fault." Katara said sadly as she looked at Aang.

"No Katara, it isn't." He replied defensively.

"Yeah, it kind of is." Iroh said. Katara glared at him and Eira finally remembered. He saw her in the spirit world and now she was more embarrassed than ever. Her face turned bright red and she went to hide her face with her scarf until she remembered that she was tied to a tree.

"Give me the boy." Zuko demanded.

"You give _us_ the scroll." The Pirate Captain said in retaliation.

"Wow! Great trade there, a scroll for the Avatar. Yeah, two hundred gold pieces is certainly better than the entire fortune that Fire Lord Ozai could give you for him." Eira said sarcastically.

"Don't listen to her, she's trying to turn us against each other." Zuko said desperately.

"You're working with pirates, Zuko. You don't expect something like this?"

The pirate captain looked at Aang with more thought and turned to Sokka.

"Your friend is the Avatar?"

"Yep, sure is and I'll bet he'll fetch a lot more on the black marker than that fancy scroll." Sokka said with a sort of pride.

"Shut your mouth, you Water Tribe peasant!" Zuko snapped.

"Why? Because it's true?" Eira asked. "You know if it wasn't true, Prince Honour here wouldn't be acting so defensive now, would we?" Zuko's face was hilarious as he fumed with rage. The pirate captain on the other hand seemed convinced.

"Keep the scroll. We can buy a hundred with the rewards we'll get for the kid." They turned to leave when Zuko and his guards settled into firebending poses.

"You'll regret breaking a deal with me." They sent three blasts of fire at the pirates but they managed to jump back and they leapt into action. Oh sprinted forwards and let go of three smoke bombs, filling the air in a hazy fog as he dodged Zuko's fire blasts.

More soldiers charged for Aang but the pirates stopped them and resumed battling. They threw down more smoke bombs and the soldiers were dragged in.

Above Eira and Katara, Momo climbed down the tree they were tied to and began to nibble at the ropes, eventually breaking them and releasing Katara and Eira. Katara stood up but when Eira tried to move she fell to the ground, her world spinning from her head injury.

"Eira, you stay here and keep out of sight." Katara ordered as she helped Eira back onto her feet.

She ran back to join the fight, leaving Eira next to the tree feeling useless. She had to help somehow. She watched the smoke until Zuko was thrown out of it and Eira watched as he placed the scroll into his belt. Perfect.

Once she regained her balance she rugby tackled Zuko and sent him to the ground. Once he was on the floor she placed a foot over his neck to keep him there.

She grabbed the scroll out of his belt and threw it to Momo.

"Where is Katara's necklace?!" She growled.

Zuko stared at her defiantly and gave no reply.

"Tell me!"

"Never!" He threw her off him with a fire blast and Eira fell hard on her back.

Eira tried to resume the fight but then the pirate captain came out of nowhere and attacked Zuko with a sword. Zuko parried with fire and used his arms to deflect the attacks.

Momo was flying around with the scroll, being chased by the captain's reptile bird but Momo accidentally dropped the scroll into the fog.

Eira saw Aang leap out of the smoke cover and airbend the air to try and find Sokka and Katara.

Sokka ran out of the smoke and Eira ran up to him with Aang vaulting over the smoke to land next to them.

They saw Katara trying to push one of the pirate boats into the water when Aang ran up to her.

"Katara, you're okay!"

"Help me get this boat back into the water so we can get outta here." She instructed but no matter how hard the pushed it was futile.

"We'd need a team of rhinos to budge this ship." Sokka said as they struggled to push it.

"Or, two waterbenders." Eira said, smiling at Katara and Aang.

They all piled onto the ship and soon Aang and Katara were standing on the wooden deck of the boat and with some push and pull motion, the boat shot out into the river and Sokka was at the helm.

They sailed down the river until Aang looked back to see the pirates following.

"Sokka, can't you make it go any faster?" She heard Aang yell as Sokka looked around the steering wheel desperately.

"I don't know how! This thing wasn't made by the Water Tribe!"

Eira looked around and saw that the pirates were levelling out with them. They jumped on board but they were quickly swept off by Aang and Katara's waterbending. Katara used a puddle of water to whip a man in the face and send him flying overboard.

"Hey, you did the water whip!" Aang congratulated

"I couldn't have done it without your help."

"Enough congratulations and more waterbending." Eira said as she managed to strike a pirate in the stomach, effectively winding him and getting him off Sokka.

Aang came down and used his airbending to throw Oh and another pirate off the ship.

"Aang, look!" Katara yelled, pointing at the waterfall they were about to go off.

"Oh no…"

A pirate came up behind Aang with a knife but Aang blew on his air bison whistle. While the pirate was confused, Sokka came up behind him and pushed his overboard.

"We can stop the boat! Aang, together!" Katara yelled as they made push and pull motions with their arms, creating a small whirlpool that stopped the boat.

"It's working, it's slowing down! We're doing it!" Katara yelled in glee.

"And they're doing that!" Eira yelled pointing to Zuko's ship that was heading right towards them. It rammed into their boat and they were all forced to jump into the air as the boat fell down the waterfall.

Appa flew under them and caught them just as they were about to fall to the ground.

Aang held up the whistle triumphantly.

"I knew the whistle would come in handy! Thanks Appa!" Aang said as he patted Appa's head appreciatively.

"Yeah, we owe you one." Sokka said. Appa roared happily as he flew further north.

"Yeah, thanks Appa and… I'm going to go to sleep now." Eira said groggily as she drifted off into sleep. Exhausted by the incredibly long day, it was nice to sleep.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed reading this one as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's fun writing people fighting.**

**Next chapter: We meet Jet and his gang but how will Eira react?**

**Love you guys and please review!**


	18. Chapter 18- Distrust and Distaste

**Sooooooo sory this took so long but, it's a very long chapter. I hope you like it and I hope it's worth the wait!**

**I haven't exactly ecknowledged the amount of review, follows and favourites I'm getting but here it is... THANK YOU SOOO MUCH! I can't believe I have so many but it never could've happened without you guys.**

**I hope you continue to support this story and please review!**

* * *

Chapter 18: Distrust and Distaste

* * *

After a long rest after her little blow to the head, Eira was feeling ten times better. The world no longer swam around in pools of light and she didn't feel like she was going to face plant the floor if she moved anymore.

Eira woke up on a landing Appa and with Katara and Sokka talking about what they're going to eat or something.

"Hey guys, whatcha' talking about?" She asked as she sat up groggily. She had a crick in her neck from sleeping awkwardly but it didn't really matter.

"The sleeping dead rises." Sokka joked as he and Katara turned around to face her.

"We were just discussing if we should land soon. Appa's been flying for a while now and it may be better if we all stretch our legs." Katara answered. Eira nodded in understanding and she looked over the side of Appa's saddle, down at the leafy green forests beneath them.

Eira took a deep breath and sighed in relief. It was refreshing to have a clear head after a case of blunt force trauma. Back home she would get hurt quite a bit when she practiced martial arts, sure but in this world, the pain felt more real. More like it would do some damage. She'd already been burnt badly at least twice, one leaving a nasty scar on her arm, and she'd been hit, knocked over and thrown around so many times she almost expected it.

As Appa descended into the forest, Momo, who was curled up on Appa's head next to Aang, leaped off and flew in and out of the trees happily. He let out curious little purrs and mews as he looked around at the different bugs and fruits and nuts.

Eira jumped off and landed solidly on the ground, with a slight cushioning from her airbending. Aang had taught her how to better control it so she'd be able to move around easier.

"Solid ground, I sure have missed you." She muttered as she stretched out her arms. She breathed in the natural, dewy smell of the forest and closed her eyes serenely. If she closed her eyes, she almost felt like she was home with her friends as they walked through the little woods around her home.

Behind her she saw Aang jump of Appa as Sokka and Katara climb down from the saddle.

Aang took in the forest's healthy vibe and smiled.

"Come on buddy, let's look around!" He said cheerfully to Appa who responded with a low noise which Aang seemed to translate into agreement.

The airbender jumped up into the trees and leaped around, mirroring Momo almost exactly.

As they walked through the forest, Katara walked over to a fruit bush occasionally for a snack and Sokka just picked at his nails with his boomerang. It was quiet. It was peaceful. At least, until they all heard Momo's distressed cries.

"Momo?" Aang said questioningly as he looked to locate the direction of his screeching lemur. He seemed to find it and he ran off to his left.

Eira, Katara and Sokka all ran after him and they all found Momo in a cage suspended above their heads, as well as a variety of other animals.

"Hang on, Momo!" Aang yelled as he used his airbending to propel himself upwards and onto a branch near his trapped friend.

"What the-?" Eira muttered as she looked at Aang jumping up into the trees and slowing attempting to free the lemur.

It felt familiar and strange. She had thought that this part wasn't a part of any of the episodes but apparently she was going to be proved wrong.

Aang opened the trap and Momo flew out, his mouth full of lychee nuts and he just sat back in a tree calmly like nothing had happened.

The trap fell the ground at Eira's feet and after a moment of shock, she examined it. It was a very well designed contraption with a spherical shape and a pressure-sensitive button set on a spring that slammed the trap shut around its victim.

Sokka looked up at Aang attempting to free the other animals but he just grabbed his boomerang in annoyance.

"This is going to take forever." He muttered as he skilfully threw it around the traps, cutting the ropes and opening the traps, sending the animals inside scurrying out.

"Well that works." Aang simply commented as he jumped back down to his friends.

Sokka also began to examine the traps and his blue eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"These are Fire Nation traps, you can tell from the metalwork. We better get moving." He announced as he stood back on.

Aang and Katara began to climb back onto Appa's saddle but Sokka raised his hands in a "stop" motion.

"Uh, uh. No flying this time." He said.

Aang got down and looked quizzically at Sokka.

"What? Why wouldn't we fly?" He asked.

"We need to stay incognito for a while. The Fire Nation keeps on finding us because all they need to do is look for a giant flying bison in the sky." Eira explained, catching onto Sokka's point. "We need to shake them off the scent, so to speak."

"Basically, he's a giant fluffy monster with an arrow on his head. He's just too noticeable." Sokka summed up.

Katara and Aang looked crestfallen but Sokka just took his bag from Appa's saddle.

"I know you all want to fly but my instincts tell me we should play it safe and just walk." He said, passing Katara's bag to her.

"Instinct isn't the word I'd use, logic maybe." Eira said as she grabbed her bags.

"Logic, instinct, whatever."

"Who cares what it is, but who made you the boss?" Katara asked as she grumpily put on her bag.

"I'm not the boss, I'm the leader." He said proudly. Katara laughed in response.

"You? The leader? But your voice still cracks."

"Well, I'm the eldest, so I'm the leader." He retaliated, his voice cracking just in time to prove Katara's point. Despite how amusing it was to watch Sokka trying to act _macho_, Eira had to step in.

"Sokka, you're not the leader. Face it. No one's the leader, we're just a group. Besides, I'm older than you or at least we're the same age." She interrupted, standing in between the two bickering siblings.

"Also, Katara. Walking is still the best option for us, so for now just don't complain and stick with it. We won't be walking the whole way."

"Yeah! And walking could be fun!" Aang said, adding his optimistic commentary.

* * *

"Walking STINKS! How do people get anyway without a flying bison?" Aang groaned, his optimistic attitude completely shattered. Sokka and Eira were leading the walk at the front with Katara and Aang hanging at the back.

"In my world we could walk, drive these things called cars, fly in planes… It was so different." Eira mused quietly as they walked.

"Well, how about you ask Sokka's instincts? Or Eira's logic. They seem to know everything!" Katara said with a hint of bitterness.

"Hah! Hah! Hah! Very funny." Sokka said sarcastically as they continued to walk on.

"I'm tired of carrying my bag!" Aang complained again. It was really starting to grate on Eira's nerves.

"Then ask Sokka's instincts to carry it." Katara suggested mockingly.

"Good idea! Hey, Sokka's instincts can you-"

"Katara, Aang. Zip it." Eira snapped.

"Okay, okay. I get it! Look guys, I'm tired too. But the important thing is that we're safe from the…" They all walked through a leafy, green bush and they all walked right into a Fire Nation camp full of at least twenty soldiers.

"…from the Fire Nation." Sokka finished, trailing off as he stared in horror at the firebenders in front of him.

"Well, crud." Eira whispered under her breath. The Fire Nation camp had a warm flickering fire with several soldiers sitting around it. A tent sat in the corner of the camp with a bright black Fire Nation insignia emblazoned on it.

They all noticed the group of the children in front of them and they all got up.

"Run!" Eira yelled as they all turned back to run through the bushes where they came from but a firebender sent a fire blast behind them and it lit the entire area around them on fire.

They all backed away from the fire and Eira's breaths were beginning to become short. She was beginning to _hate_ fire.

"We're cut off." Eira said uselessly as she stared at the bright orange flames in front of her.

The span around to face the soldiers in front of them and Eira was terrified.

"Sokka! Your shirt!" Katara screamed as she waterbent at his currently flaming sleeve. She doused him and his shirt was put out quickly.

After Sokka managed to regain his calmer face after his sleeve was put out and he tried to put on a brave face as he stared down the firebenders in front of him.

"I-If you let us go… W-We won't, hurt you." He stuttered, grasping his machete with his shaking hands.

"What are you doing?" Katara hissed under her breath.

"Bluffing." Sokka quietly admitted nervously.

"_You_, promise not to hurt _us_?" A soldier with an eye patch said as he stared them down, preparing to attack. He readied a fire blast but then he fell to the floor, knocked out.

"Sokka, how did you do that?" Katara asked in utter shock as she stared at the unconscious firebender.

"Uhhhhh, instinct?" He suggested, confused himself.

"Up there!" Eira yelled pointing to the trees around them. In the trees, Jet was running around with two hooked swords and as he jumped down he took out two guards.

"Down you go." He said with satisfaction as he got up from the two unconscious soldiers.

Katara looked awed, Aang looked a mix of shock and amazement, Sokka just looked confused but Eira looked annoyed. _Oh boy! Jet's here…_

Another soldier ran up to Jet but he was struck down by the same thing that struck down the firebender with the eye patch.

"They're in the trees!" A soldier yelled, pointing to the trees but then a boy dropped down on him and turned his helmet around, effectively blinding him. Longshot was in the trees, shooting arrows down at them as more people ran in from the woods.

Jet's freedom fighters, and Eira had to admit they were good. They all skilfully began to deal with the firebenders and immobilise them in their own unique ways. And all Aang, Sokka, Katara and Eira were doing was watching.

Nodding to each other, they all charged in to join the fight. Eira, determined to get it over with quickly, swept her leg under the nearby firebenders and with an added gust of wind they were all toppled over quickly.

Behind her Sokka was charging and screaming - He still needed training in sneak attacks - towards a nearby firebender but Jet got there first, taking him down.

"Hey, he was mine!" Sokka yelled indignantly. Jet gave him a confident, sly grin.

"Gotta' be quicker next time." He simply said as he ran off to fight more people.

Eira just punched a man in the stomach, winding him when Jet ran up beside her.

"Hey, name's Jet. You're a good fighter." Eira turned around gave him a scowl and blushed as she turned away. He was annoyingly handsome with his perfect tanned skin, windswept dark brown hair and white, pearly smile.

"Thanks." She said as she struck a firebender and he slashed his dual hooked-swords at another.

A huge behemoth of a person charged past them and slammed into the remaining firebenders as a smaller one was knocking a man's head inside his helmet as he rode on the man's shoulders.

Jet skilfully took down two more, just as Sokka charged again with his machete and sung at the empty space where a firebender had been.

"Man!" He muttered in annoyance.

Jet once again went up to Eira and grinned at her.

"Hey. Didn't catch your name before."

"I'm Eira." She said shortly, not really wanting to deal with him. If they left now, they wouldn't need to deal with the many inconveniences he would cause.

"Wow!" Katara said in awe as she looked around the camp, now cleared of firebenders. "You took a whole army practically single-handed."

Jet grinned at her and she blushed, obviously crushing on the older teen.

"Army? But there were only like, twenty guys!" Sokka said bitterly, arms crossed in annoyance.

Katara and Aang ignored him but Eira couldn't help but agree. Jet was good but not _that_ good and playing it up like that was undeserved.

"My name is Jet. These are my freedom fighters." He said proudly, gesturing to the collection of kids behind him. "Sneers, Longshot, Smellerbee, The Duke, and Pipsqueak." Aang walked up to the giant boy with another, much smaller, boy sitting on his shoulders.

Aang grinned at the smaller boy and laughed.

"Hah! Pipsqueak, that's a funny name." The bigger boy leaned down menacingly in Aang's face and growled.

"You think my name's funny?"

"It's hilarious!" Aang confirmed cheerfully. After a pause, Pipsqueak laughed too and slammed a palm on Aang's back, sending him falling to the ground. They all shared a good hearty laugh but Eira couldn't get into the light atmosphere.

"I'm sorry guys, but we need to be leaving now. The North Pole's calling." Eira stated bluntly. Katara shot her a "Shut up" look as she approached Jet and smiled.

"Thanks for saving us back there." She said timidly, blushing.

"I guess I should be thanking you, we were staking out that camp for days. We were waiting for a decent distraction.

Eira walked in between them and separated them.

"You know, I'm sorry to break you two up, but we really shouldn't hang around." She said but Katara gave her another scowl.

"Eira." She hissed quietly. "What's with you?"

"I just… We don't want to get involved here." Eira explained weakly. How could she say that she thought Jet wasn't exactly mentally stable, for all she knew, Eira had only met Jet a couple of minutes ago.

"How exactly did you stumble into that camp, wasn't the smartest move." Jet said, ignoring Eira's interruption.

Katara looked at her brother and crossed her arms in disapproval.

"We were relying on instincts."

"For the last time, it was logic! If we don't want to get spotted by the Fire Nation, it'd be better _not_ to travel on a giant flying bison!" Eira persisted. Katara was starting to get on her nerves.

Next to them, The Duke and Pipsqueak were inspecting some barrels.

"Hey, Jet! These barrels are full of blasting jelly!" Pipsqueak announced loudly.

"That's good." Jet noted. "Put it with the rest."

"And these barrels are full of jelly candy!" The Duke said as he pulled his face from a barrel opening.

"Also good. Be careful not to mix them up."

"We'll take them back to the hideout." The Duke said, nodding as he pulled the barrels away.

"You have a hideout?!" Aang said in shock, his eyes lighting up with excitement. Jet turned to face him and smiled, recognising his excitement.

"You want to see it?" He asked, despite knowing what Aang's answer would be.

"Yes, we want to see it!" Katara agreed, bursting with excitement. Eira groaned. It was going to be another long day.

* * *

Jet led them to another part of the forest with a clearing with lush green grass and a good cover of tall trees.

"This is it. We're here." Jet said as he gestured to the clearing.

Sokka looked around and looked quizzically at Jet.

"There's nothing here." He said, looking around in the vain hope of finding something.

"Hold this." Jet said mischievously as he handed a rope to Sokka. Sokka looked at it skeptically.

"Why? What's this do?" He took hold of the rope and was immediately pulled up into the tree branches. Jet gave a smirk at Sokka's screaming as he was pulled forcibly up and handed another rope to Aang.

"Aang?" He asked, prompting to the rope in his hand.

"Nah, I'll get up on my own." He said as he jumped up into the branches. Jet looked up at him in amazement and then looked over to Katara.

"Here if you hold onto it like this…" He instructed as Katara held the rope. Slower than Sokka's hasty catapulting, Katara was pulled up into the tree branches and she let out a whoop of excitement.

"This is amazing!"

Jet then turned to Eira and held out a hand.

"Hold onto me." He said as he pulled her closer to him. They both shot up straight into the leaves and Eira couldn't help but gasp in amazement. It looked so beautiful. The sunlight glittered through the leaves and it was like a village resting on top of the tree tops.

Jet and Eira landed softly on a path of wooden planks and he smiled at her.

"Pretty great, huh?" Eira tugged at her scarf nervously, making sure it was still on.

"Yeah… It does look amazing." She looked around and saw Katara and Aang looking around in absolute joy and child-like excitement at the tree houses and Sokka was stretching out in pain and his hair was dishevelled and full of leaves.

"Great place you got here!" Aang said to Jet as he walked up to them.

"It's so beautiful up here." Katara marvelled as she tried to take all of it in.

"It's beautiful…" His face hardened slightly, as if souring. "And more importantly the Fire Nation can't find us."

Smellerbee zipped through the trees and landed next to Eira.

"They would love to find you. Wouldn't they, Jet." She said as she walked off.

"It's not gonna happen, Smellerbee!" He called out.

"Why does the Fire Nation want to find you?" Katara asked worriedly.

"I guess you could say I've been causing them a little trouble." Jet simply said.

"Yeah, we've been ambushin' their troops, cutting off their supply lines and doin' anythin' we can to mess with 'em." Pipsqueak said from behind them.

Jet looked into the horizon where Eira guessed the town was.

"One day, we'll drive the Fire Nation out of here for good, and we'll free that town." He said wistfully.

"That's so brave." Katara said in awe. Eira just noticed Sokka jumping behind Pipsqueak, trying to get past. When he finally got past he brushed himself off and looked at his sister with a frown.

"Yeah, nothing's braver than a guy in a tree house." He said sarcastically.

"Don't pay any attention to my brother." Katara said as she shot a scowl at her brother. Eira thought it was crazy just how much Katara was crushing.

"No problem. He probably had a rough day." Jet said.

"How did you make all of this?" Eira asked. "How did you get all of the materials?"

"We're very resourceful. It's amazing what a couple of kids can do." Jet said. "Especially if the Fire Nation _donates_ some supplies."

"And you _all_ live here?" Katara asked in amazement.

"That's right. Longshot over there?" They looked over to see Longshot and The Duke walking together, not talking, not making a sound. It seemed to be a respectful silence, the sort Longshot seemed to radiate non-stop. "His town was burnt down by the Fire Nation. And we found The Duke trying to steal our food. I don't think he ever really had a home." Jet explained.

They all walked down the plank path with Sokka staying behind and Aang going off with Pipsqueak. Eira wanted to go anywhere else but with Jet and Katara but Jet _insisted._

"What about you." Katara asked after a while.

Jet stopped in his tracks.

"The Fire Nation killed my parents when I was eight… That day changed me forever. The Fire Nation had changed all of us."

"Sokka and I lost our mother to the Fire Nation and our father went off to fight." Katara said sadly, almost wincing as the painful memory struck her.

"I'm so sorry, Katara." He turned to Eira. "Did the Fire Nation take your family, Eira?" Eira rubbed her arm where Zuko had burned her.

"No. They didn't take my family. I was taken away from them." Jet didn't ask more questions and Eira was thankful, she hated thinking about, it just made her blood boil to think about those spirits. Maybe that's how Jet felt about the Fire Nation. _I guess Jet's a bit more understandable now… But destroying a village is too far. I wouldn't do that to get my family back. Neither would they._ She thought as they walked.

After a short walk, Jet showed them some spare huts and told them that they could stay for a while.

"Thanks, Jet." Katara said as he left them alone in the hut. Katara sat down and looked happily at Eira, who was setting her bag down on a small wooden table.

"Jet's incredible. Isn't he?"

"Sure… Katara? I don't think we should stay here too long." Eira said quietly. "Aang needs to go to the North Pole, and you want to learn waterbending. The sooner we arrive there, the more you'll learn." She quickly explained. Katara liked Jet too much to outright say "We need to leave"… This was going to be difficult.

* * *

That evening, Jet invited them to a banquet of sorts. The sky was dark and full of stars and it was so beautiful, it was breath-taking. Eira loved looking at the stars, but sadly there was more.

All of the freedom fighters were gathered round a table and talking and eating while being generally rowdy. Eira and Sokka sat together with Aang and Katara sitting next to them. Eira felt a bit overwhelmed with all of the noise and she felt embarrassed that she was so obviously nervous, hiding under her scarf and speaking quietly and rejecting most conversation.

She was grateful that Sokka next to her was also not enthralled with Jet and his freedom fighters. He was eating heartily as he always did but he kept on shooting glances at Jet.

After everyone got into the food and conversation, Jet stood up the table, gaining the attention of everyone around him.

"Today we struck another blow against the Fire Nation swine." He started, speaking in a loud, confident voice. Everyone cheered in response with Aang and Katara grinning happily, but Sokka and Eira stayed unenthusiastic.

"I got a special joy from the look on one soldier's face, when The Duke dropped down on his helmet and rode him like a wild hog monkey." Jet continued. In response, The Duke stood up on the table and marched on the table with his arms in the air, his helmet off for once. He looked proud of himself.

"Now, the Fire Nation thinks that they don't have to worry about a couple of kids hiding in the trees." He said, lifting his wooden cup to his mouth, stopping just before it touched his lips. "Maybe they're right." Boos rang out through the trees and then Jet's face hardened again with a cold expression. He threw down his cup and looked angry. "Or maybe… they're _dead_ wrong!" He spat, his hatred of the Fire Nation shining through.

Cheers sounded out and everyone raised their cups to Jet as he climbed off the table and sat down in the seat on the other side of Eira. _It's like a mix of Peter Pan and the Lost Boys and Robin Hood and his Merry men._ Eira thought as she stared into space.

Katara leant over and smiled at him. "Great speech, Jet." She complimented. Jet took it with a smile.

"Thanks. By the way, I was really impressed with you, Aang and Eira. That was some great bending I saw out there. I thought the airbenders were all gone."

"Well, Aang's great, he's the Avatar." Katara blushed and looked down sheepishly. "I could use more training."

"Avatar, huh? _Very_ nice." Despite the compliment, it sounded as if Jet had a more sinister tone in his voice and despite knowing Jet's ultimate goal, Eira couldn't exactly tell what it was exactly.

"Thanks, Jet."

Eira's eyes glazed over and she was beginning to become tired. It was late and if she could help it, they'd be getting up early tomorrow and leaving Jet behind.

"I'm sorry, but I'm going to go now. We're leaving early anyway." Eira said as she got up from the table. "Thanks, Jet." She turned to leave by Jet grabbed her wrist to stop her from leaving.

"But Eira, I need you guys for something tomorrow." He said. Eira turned around to see Aang and Katara's expectant faces. She looked at Sokka helplessly. She needed his help in this. He caught on and also stood up.

"Sorry, but Eira's right. We need to get Aang to the North Pole and if we're to do that in time, we should be leaving." He said, backing her up.

"Sokka, you're kidding me! I needed you on an important mission tomorrow." Sadly, that caught Sokka.

"What mission?" And then Eira was outvoted.

"I need you to help me scout somewhere." Jet said vaguely. Eira groaned inwardly and crossed her arms.

"Fine, we're staying here for a while. But I'm going to help on your important mission tomorrow." Eira said in defeat. She then turned and left, not allowing for any for argument. If she couldn't prevent it, she would stop it.

* * *

That night, she couldn't sleep despite how tired she was previously.

Being careful not to wake Katara up, using small cushions of air beneath her feet to make sure no sound was made. She walked out of the hut and climbed up onto a tree branch.

Swinging her feet gently, she looked up at the stars. She tried to look or Orion or the Big Dipper or any other constellation she recognised, but she still found nothing. But despite the lack of familiarity, these stars were a lot nicer. Without all of the light pollution from her world, these stars shone bright in their thousands, swirling patterns and twisting shapes, twinkling and sparkling…

A rustling noise in the tree caught her attention and as she turned, she found herself face to face with Jet.

"Jet?!" She gasped quietly, trying to not let her shock show too much.

"Hey." He said. He sounded too calm, it was annoying.

"Why are you here?" Eira asked.

"Could be asking you the same thing." He paused. "I came here to talk to you." He admitted after some hesitation.

"Why me?"

"I just wanted to ask you something, why are you so… shifty around me?" Eira was speechless, though her shock wasn't exactly deserved. She wasn't exactly subtle when she was constantly saying to everyone they should be leaving here, avoiding talking to anyone, etc.

"Well… I, uh. I don't know. I guess I'm just not very good with people." She explained pathetically. "I've had run-ins with the Fire Nation and… Let's just say it's made me a bit nervous." His face turned cold. The mention of the Fire Nation immediately changing his mood.

"But I understand. The Fire Nation are a bunch of evil scumbags who need to be taken down. I know they killed your people." _My people… But they're not. I'm not from this world. I don't belong here._

"They're Aang's people. Not mine." She said. Confusion flickered on his face.

"But you're an airbender."

"I'm not supposed to be. I was never supposed to be here." Eira looked away from Jet. He looked sympathetically at her and lifted his hand to her scarf. Eira tensed and pulled it further down her face, blushing fiercely.

She jumped down from the tree branch and walked back to her hut, leaving Jet behind. More homesickness shot through her heart and as she settled on her sleeping bag she took off her scarf and let her pale hair fall down around her. She would never belong here, and her scarf was proof enough. Eira closed her eyes and realised that she had been crying.

* * *

The next day Jet had woken Eira and Sokka up so they could go on the important mission. They all were sitting in the top of a tree overlooking the dirt road where Jet said some firebenders were going to pass by.

As Eira looked around she heard a birdcall/whistle from Jet. Several trees down, Pipsqueak and Smellerbee stepped out of their branches and called out using a slightly different whistle.

Eira was getting bored and decided to hang upside down on a branch she was sitting on.

As Sokka watched the road, he suddenly slammed his knife into the trunk of the tree. Jet stared at him as if he was crazy.

"What are you doing?" He asked.

"Shhh!" Eira hissed. "It's a technique that amplified vibrations that travel from the ground into the tree. It helps to hear footprints." Eira whispered to Jet as she hung upside down, watching Sokka as he put his ear to the handle of his knife.

"Good trick." Jet said, visibly impressed. _Now that I think about it, where did Sokka learn that? There wouldn't be that many opportunities to learn that in the South Pole._ Eira mused silently as she waited.

"Nothing yet… Wait! Yes, there's something. Someone's approaching." Sokka whispered urgently.

"How many?" Jet asked, also whispering.

"I think there's just one." Sokka said, unsure. Eira tensed as Jet let out another birdcall.

"Before you do anything drastic, we should first confirm is this person is indeed a threat." Eira hissed, trying to make sure Jet wouldn't do anything stupid. She threw herself back up onto the branch and looked for the old man.

He was an elderly man who used a knobbled walking stick to walk. He looked pitiful and helpless and he didn't even look like he was a firebender. He lacked the confidence and power firebender seemed to move with.

"False alarm." She called. "Just let him pass-" She never finished her sentence: Jet just grimaced as he saw the man's red, Fire Nation robes and he jumped, pulling out his swords.

He landed firmly in front of the man and the force of his landing pushed the man back. He thrust his hooked swords under the man's chin, stopping just before he made contact. The old man was trembling with fear and all Eira and Sokka could do is watch in horror.

"What are you doing in our woods you leach?" Jet spat in disgust.

"Please sir, I'm just a traveller." The old man warbled, his terror of Jet terribly apparent.

Jet took a step forwards and with a single swipe he sent the man's cane flying to the edge of the dirt path. The old man backed away in horror and fear for his life and tried to run away but he ran face first into Pipsqueak, the force of the impact sending him to the floor. He tried to crawl away but Pipsqueak used his foot to pin him down.

Eira couldn't stand it anymore. She'd been staying still in horror but this was going too far. She leaped down from the tree and landed in front of Jet.

"Jet. Stop!" She commanded with a surprising amount of force and anger. "Why attack this man? He has done nothing and will do nothing. He's not a firebender and he's an old man. What power does he have over you?"

Jet looked furious and pointed a sword at the man.

"He's a Fire Nation spy!" He growled.

"Oh yes, that makes a whole lot of sense. Send a _spy_ in his native clothing, that wouldn't raise any suspicion!" Eira said sarcastically. Sokka came down and pushed Pipsqueak of the man.

"Jet, you've gone too far." He said, raising his knife threateningly. Jet began to walk towards her but she sent a blast of air against him.

"I wouldn't do that." She warned. She turned to the man and helped him up with Sokka. "We are going to escort this man back to his village. You will not follow and after this we will be leaving."

With their help the old man walked slowly down the road, leaving his terrorisers behind him in a state of utter shock.

"Thank you for your kindness, young lady." He said, still trembling.

"You don't have to apologize." She said blankly as they walked. She then lowered her voice as she spoke to the man. "Whatever you do, don't tell the soldiers about this. If you do, the entire village will be destroyed." She hissed, hoping that this time the person she saved wouldn't betray her.

* * *

When Sokka and Eira arrived back at Jet's hideout, they immediately sought to find Katara and Aang. After about a minute of searching the huts and the trees they saw Aang and Momo playing around the ziplines.

After spotting the two sombre teens, Aang, oblivious to their sombre faces, leaped down to them with a happy grin on his face.

"Sokka, Eira! Look what The Duke gave me!" Aang said as he pulled a small pellet from his bag. A sly grin forming on his face he threw it a Momo. It exploded in a loud pop and Momo puffed up and arched his back like a startled cat.

He screeched and pounced at Aang, snatching the pellets and throwing them at Aang's feet. They exploded and Aang danced around wildly, trying to avoid the little explosions.

"Ow! Quit it!" He yelled in pain.

Sokka and Eira just stared at him in disbelief.

"Aang. Where's Ka-" Eira began until she saw Katara walk up to them.

"Hey guys! Is Jet back?" She asked cheerfully.

"Hopefully not, either way we are leaving now. Collect your things and we'll meet you with Appa." Eira stated blankly.

"What?" Aang exclaimed in surprise.

"But I made him a hat." Katara said, disappointed as she presented them with a hideous cap made out of stitched leaves and an orange flower placed on the top.

"Your boyfriend Jet just assaulted a harmless old man!" Sokka yelled.

"What? He wouldn't do that!" Katara insisted, scowling at Sokka for even suggesting Jet would do such a thing.

"On his _important_ mission, he decided to attack anyone wearing red, even if that person was an old man and not even a firebender." Eira said. "Jet was waiting there to ambush and steal from any travellers who came by,"

"He's messed up, Katara." Sokka said.

"He's not messed up. He's just got a different way of life, a really fun way of life." Aang said, not really getting the point.

"But he tried to beat and rob an old man!" Sokka persisted, not understanding his sister's determination for Jet to be innocent. Katara looked at him and Eira with… distrust? But why, she liked Jet a lot but, did she really like him over her own brother?

"I want to hear Jet's side of the story."

"Fine!" Sokka said bitterly as he charged off in the direction of Jet's hut. Eira looked at Aang and Katara sadly and then turned to follow Sokka. She really didn't want Jet to fool them this time.

The walked over in silence to Jet's hut and Sokka burst in loudly and rudely.

"Jet! Tell them about the man that _you_ tried to beat and rob!" Sokka yelled bluntly. Jet looked at Sokka with shock at the accusation. He took a second to compose himself, obviously not expecting a confrontation after Eira saying that they'd be leaving right away, and he looked calmly at Sokka.

"I was not going to beat _or_ rob a helpless old man, if that's what you're implying. I _was_ preventing an assassination." Jet said confidently. He was sitting in a simple wooden chair, resting his feet on a wooden table.

Katara looked at Sokka and Eira with an "I told you so" glare, then turned back to Jet, apologetically.

"Sorry Jet, my brother and Eira aren't exactly accepting of your lifestyle." She said, ignoring the shocked look from Eira.

Behind her Aang was wearing the hat that Katara had made, he looked ridiculous but sadly not ridiculous enough the cut through the tense atmosphere.

"Katara, Jet is blatantly twisting the facts. He saw that man for only a second and because of his clothes, he decided to attack him. There was no evidence that that man was an assassin and if he was, he was a poor one. There's no way anyone would be stupid enough to send an elderly assassin in Fire Nation robes, to a group of children who hate the Fire Nation." Eira said in a calm yet stern tone of voice, trying to make the facts clear.

Jet grabbed a knife from behind him and slammed it into the table. The knife had a sinister-looking curved blade and the reddish handle had four spikes spaced evenly along the side, leaving enough room for fingers that would be grasping it. A small golden ring was attached to the end of it.

"This was a knife we found with the old man." He said matter-of-factly. Eira's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"But I told you to leave the man alone." She said, scowling harder.

"We _caught up_ with him after your intervention. I have a duty to protect my freedom fighters and that man was Fire Nation." He said, not really bothered. He reached for the knife and took hold of the ring and turned it around. He unscrewed the bottom of the knife and pulled out a small glass tube filled with crimson liquid.

"He was sent to eliminate me. You actually kind of saved my life." He explained.

"I knew there was a proper explanation." Katara said in relief, happy that she could believe Jet.

"There was no knife. We are leaving now anyway, even if he was an assassin, we still have to get Aang to the South Pole. I'm going back to the hunt to pack my things." Eira stated.

"Yeah, enough of this." Sokka agreed.

He turned and left and just as Eira went to go out of the hut, she turned around to face Katara and Aang, her expression softening.

"I'm sorry for all of this. Just… Think about what you're doing and why Jet wants you to do it. The reservoir overlooks the town after all." She said cryptically, resigning to the fact that Aang and Katara liked Jet too much to listen. She left and headed back to her and Katara's hut to pack her sleeping bag and stationary.

After backing her things into her bag she went to find Sokka. He was tying his roll mat up and as he saw her enter, he looked sympathetic and slightly embarrassed.

"I'm sorry about Katara… She can be stubborn, a lot of the time."

"Excuse me?" Eira turned around and saw Katara standing in the doorway with Aang.

"We can't leave." She informed.

"We can and we should." Sokka said and he stood up to face his sister.

"But we can't leave with the Fire Nation about to burn down a forest!" She said.

"We can't trust him. He's just a good-looking liar who had you hooked with a cool place and a sob-story." Eira said bluntly, not bothering to mask her dislike. Katara's face flushed in indignation and Eira was starting to feel guilty. She had gone too far.

When she disliked someone or someone put her in this sort of mood, no-one's feeling seemed to matter, until she hurt them.

"Sorry, that was cruel… But my point remains valid, he's a liar and not emotionally stable, in my opinion. If anyone even mentions the Fire Nation, he completely flips out and goes mental."

Katara just stared at her blankly, until that blankness faded into distrust.

"We're staying here to help Jet. Come on, Aang." She said, leaving a harsh tension behind her.

"Sorry." Aang said gently as he followed Katara nervously. Eira's body went cold. Why was she so bad at being trustful?

"Sokka… Keep your guard up. I-I'm not sure if everything's going to be okay."

* * *

That night Eira decided not to sleep in the hut. Katara was furious with her, and Eira couldn't blame her. She had been harsh. She just… HATED Jet. The fury he had towards that man, the way he lied and tricked Katara and Aang. It was despicable.

The moon shone brightly on the forest and Eira was starting to calm down. All she had to do was get them to leave this place, then everything would be better. Wouldn't i-…

Eira heard a rustling noise and turned around to face it. It was moving quickly around her, untraceable. It wasn't like when Jet popped up behind her, it was more sinister. Eira looked around, trying harder to try and identify it, her heart beating quickly and erratically.

"Wh-Who's there?" She asked, stuttering in fear. There was no response… Then suddenly a hand came up from behind her and went over her mouth, muffling the surprised scream she let out. She was thrown backwards and into a bag of sorts.

A punch struck her in the back through the bag and she winced in pain. Her eyes glazed over as she fought to stay awake.

She felt herself being dragged against a floor and suddenly thrown onto a wooden surface, a wagon, perhaps? What the hell was going on?

She couldn't speak, the effort would take too much out of her, as would trying to move away.

After a couple of minutes she was being thrown back on the ground. She gasped in pain as she was being rolled out of the bag. She blinked her eyes several times and found herself facing one of Jet's hooked swords.

_Why am I always the one being captured by the crazy ones?_ Eira thought as her foggy mind began to clear.

Jet, on the end of the sword, looked quite mad (in both ways.)

"Well, well, well… Know I get to uncover the Fire Nation spy. Whatcha' got hiding under that scarf of yours, you evil Fire Nation scum." He growled as he hooked his sword under her scarf and jerked it off, pulling it off and sending it flying through the air, surprisingly gracefully.

Eira's pale hair fell down around her and Jet's surprise was unmistakable.

"Your plan will fail. I'm sure you realise that." She said calmly, despite her erratic pulse. She stood up slowly, trying to mask her pain. She stared Jet right in the face. "Why would you think I'm a spy, Jet? I've travelling with the Avatar for goodness sake."

Jet's expression hadn't changed this whole time, he was still furious.

"You protected them, you were surprisingly defensive of them and you seemed oddly sure that man wasn't a spy, or an assassin for that matter." He growled, positioning his sword under her chin and for the first time since Jet had accused her, her fear was starting to surface.

"I-I'm defending innocent civilians. Yo-You should be doing the same, not… not wiping them out under the false pretence of saving them." She stuttered, still determined to stare him down.

"Then why hide?" He asked with venom. Eira gave a nervous laugh and gestured to her hair.

"This any reason?" She asked nervously. His eyes narrowed and behind him, The Duke, Smellerbee and Longshot looked between Jet and Eira unsurely. Was Jet wrong? Were they wrong?

"Jet… Is this really worth it?" Smellerbee asked quietly. Jet looked at her incredulously.

"Of course! The Fire Nation is a plague on that town and we are going to help rid the world of them." He said.

They all jumped as Sokka fell through the bushes. Smellerbee instantly pointed her knife at him and smiled slyly.

"Where do you think you're going, ponytail?" She asked, sneering at him.

Pipsqueak grabbed his warrior's wolf-tail and dragged him next to Eira at the edge of the cliff.

"Thanks for joining me." Eira whispered, trying to sound upbeat.

"It's alright." He whispered back before facing Jet with narrowed eyes. "You're planning to wipe out that town using _my_ sister and Aang? How could you?"

"We're riding that valley of the Fire Nation." Jet growled in response.

"There are families down there Jet, if you go through with this, you'll be just like the man who killed your parents, no, worse!" Sokka said.

"You don't understand the demand of war! You can't win without sacrifices!" Jet yelled, the mention of his parents setting him off.

"No, Jet! You don't understand. You can't win without sacrifices? But how can you win when you sacrifice your morals and ideals?" Eira said sadly, her quiet tone carrying more weight than any shout. Jet clenched his fists angrily.

"I was hoping you'd have open minds, but there's no hope for you anymore. You've made your choice." He said. He nodded to Smellerbee and Pipsqueak and they grabbed Sokka and Eira.

Jet brandished his swords carefully and precisely as he hooked them around Sokka's wrists.

"I can't let you tell Katara and Aang." He released Sokka's hands and Pipsqueak pinned them behind his back. Jet turned around slowly. "Take them for a walk, a _long_ walk."

"You can't do this! Think of your parents, Jet!" Eira yelled as she got pulled away.

"Cheer up." Jet said, madness shining through. "We're gonna win a great victory against the Fire Nation today."

Sokka and Eira were pushed through the forest, Eira scanned around for those Fire Nation traps as Sokka talked.

"How can you stand by and do nothing while Jet wipes out a whole town?" He asked as he was pushed by Smellerbee.

"Hey listen Sokka, Jet's a great leader. We follow what he says, and things always turn out okay." Smellerbee retorted in full belief in what she was saying.

Eira's eyes focussed on the traps and she smiled.

"Except for today!" She said as she jumped up and kicked them backwards, sprinting for the traps. Sokka caught on quickly and also began to sprint towards the traps.

Smellerbee made a grab for them, but missed, falling into a trap with Pipsqueak falling into another one and then both being thrown up into the air in spherical, steel traps.

Sokka and Eira laughed in relief as they watch the two dangle from the tree branch.

"Ah, thank goodness that worked." Eira muttered in belief.

"While you two are up there, you might want to practice your knot work." Sokka called, cupping his hands around his mouth as they both walked away.

"Eira, we need to stop the dam blowing up." Sokka said as they walked.

"No, Sokka. We'll never get there in time. We need to make sure the village is evacuated first, better safe than sorry." Eira said. Sokka nodded in understanding and they both started to run towards the town.

After they got to the town, Sokka and Eira found themselves surrounded by Fire Nation troops and Earth Kingdom civilians.

"Listen! Everyone! The dams going to blow!" Sokka yelled. The Fire Nation troops were beginning to advance, ignoring all of their claims.

"Everyone, you have to evacuate!" Eira shouted.

"Enough of that! Stop lyin'" A soldier growled, until the old man from before butted in.

"N-No, wait. These youngsters are telling the truth." He warbled. "If they say it's going to break that means it's going to break." Eira gasped in relief and apparently the man held some position of respect here because then the people started to murmur and move.

"Alright. Everyone, you need to move now. That dam is going to blow and it's going to blow soon. I need everyone to evacuate!" Eira commanded. Immediately, people began to take action, shuffling and moving into the forest.

It took ages and every so often Eira would steal a glance at the dam, hoping that it wouldn't blow up, hoping that something she had said changed something. Sadly, that wasn't the case. The dam blew up in a burst of fire, smoke and a tsunami of water smashed down through the valley.

After making sure everyone was safe, Sokka and Eira ran through the forest to Appa. Eira flew Appa to the cliff where they saw Aang, Jet and Katara. Katara and Aang horrified and Jet in a state of mad victory, frozen onto a tree.

"This was a victory, Katara. Remember that. The Fire Nation is gone and this valley will be safe." They heard Jet say.

"It will be safe, without you." Sokka announced as Appa rose in front of the cliff.

"Sokka! Eira!" Katara exclaimed happily.

"We warned the villagers of your plan, just in time." Eira said to the dismay of Jet.

"What!?" Jet growled angrily.

"They didn't believe us at first. The Fire Nation thought we were trying to fool them, but that old man we saved vouched for us, the same old man you attacked. He urged them to believe us and thanks to him, we managed to save everyone in time." Eira explained happily.

Jet looked furious and he was fuming.

"You fools!" He yelled. "We could've saved this valley!"

"But we did. We saved them from you. You betrayed your parent's memory by attempting to kill innocent people. I hope you realise what you've done." Jet looked helplessly at Katara, who was heading towards Appa solemnly.

"Katara. Please, help me." He pleaded. Katara didn't give him even a glance. She just stared away from him, trying to keep her eyes from misting.

"Goodbye Jet." She said monotonously as she climbed onto Appa and they flew away.

After they had gotten into the sky, Eira sat closer to Katara and wrapped an arm around her.

"I'm so sorry, Katara. I'm so sorry for what I said before, I-I…" Eira began, her apology tumbling out of her mouth to be stopped by Katara.

"It's alright… It's my fault, I didn't believe you about Jet and because of that, you had to suffer." Katara admitted quietly.

"It's going to be fine. You'll never have to see him again and soon all he'll be is a distant memory." She said upbeatly.

"That reminds me!" Aang said suddenly. He turned around and presented Eira's scarf to her. "Ta dah!" Eira beamed at him.

"Thank you sooooo much, Aang." She said as she wrapped the scarf around her head. She looked around and a confused look appeared on her face.

"Uh, Sokka? You do realise you're going the wrong way, right?" She called from the saddle. Sokka jumped in surprise and hastily moved the reigns, changing their direction quickly.

"I do now." He said, embarrassed and they all laughed happily.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this and please review!**


	19. Chapter 19-Singing

**Sorry but I'm not going to be doing The Great Divide. I don't think I'd be able to change much or add a twist, except for fixing the main problem with the episode. Anyway, to say sorry for the lack of that chapter, I decided to write this short little character piece about what could happen after.**

**The song Eira sings is "Dacw 'Nghariad", search for it on youtube if you want to hear the rest of it.**

**So, sorry it's so short and I hope to get the next chapter up soon. **

**Please review and enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 19: Singing

* * *

Eira couldn't believe it, what had changed in this world that changed Aang's past. Apparently he _did_ know Jin Wei and Wei Jin. Well, at least it fixed one of the most glaring problems in the episode. The fact that Aang just lied to fix _real _problems that caused _real_ pain.

They were all setting up camp in the most perfect clearing they could've found, a small gap in a large leafy forest. It provided them with just the right amount of shade.

Appa landed softly in the clearing and they all climbed off.

"I'm hungry. All that bickering back there sure works up an appetite." Sokka said, stretching his arms behind his back. He turned to look at Eira with big, expectant, hungry eyes. "Pleeease?" He asked, giving her a puppy pout. Eira rolled her eyes and crossed her arms.

"Fine. What do you want? Wait, I have an idea." Eira said, an idea sparking in her head. "Aang? Can you start a fire for me?" She asked sweetly as she went to her bag to collect some food. Some meat, some vegetables, and some skewers. Perfect.

After Aang set up the fire Eira instructed them to just relax and wait for her to finish. She managed to cut up all of the food and stick them onto the skewers. _Time to show them some modern food._ Eira thought with a smile on her face.

If she couldn't go back home, she could at least bring a little home here. Her father would _try_ and make kebabs all of the time… and promptly fail, burning them to the core. At least she could cook them properly.

She put the skewers on a make-shift spit of sorts and soon Sokka was complaining as the smell from the cooked meat and vegetables and Eira was finished.

"Finally, all done!" Eira announced as she handed the kebabs to them. Sokka looked at his mainly-meat one, drool in his mouth.

"Meat…" He said as he stared at it in wonder. Katara looked at hers and also began to dig in. Eating it reminded her of home.

"This is amazing, Eira." Aang said in delight as he finished eating. Eira smiled at him.

"Thanks, Aang. I have to admit, I've never really eaten the vegetarian version before but it's not that bad." She said, looking wistfully at Sokka and Katara's meat kebabs. She missed meat.

It didn't take long for everyone to finish their food and soon they were all sitting peacefully around the campfire.

They all sat in silence for a long time until Sokka was becoming antsy. He kept on twitching like he wanted to do something but he still said nothing.

"Sokka, if you want to do something, how about you sing a song?" Eira suggested jokingly as she leant back against the ground.

"Hah! Hah! Why don't you?" He said.

"Seriously, you do not want to hear _me_ sing." Eira said grimacing. Her memories of her and her family singing where not her most treasured ones, despite Wales being thought of as having great singers, she was not one of them.

Katara looked at them with a certain gleam in her eyes.

"Well, why not? It sounds fun." She said. Sokka and Eira looked at her as if she'd grown pink, polka-dotted wings.

"Katara, I was just joking." Eira said sheepishly.

"Yeah, but it could be fun anyway. We had enough negativity back at the great divide and some light-hearted singing would be nice." Katara said, grinning widely. Aang was also grinning, a stark contrast to the moody Sokka and Eira. They obviously shared the same opinion on singing.

"Eira, since Sokka and I know some Water Tribe songs and Aang probably knows some Air Nomad songs but you don't know any from our world, would you like to show us a song from your world." Katara offered.

Eira blushed. What song could she suggest? Most songs she knew were either mainly instrumental or sung by men. Hmmmmm…

"I do know a song called "_Dacw 'Nghariad"_ it means "There is my sweetheart". It's a folk song."

Katara's eyes lit up."

"Sounds awesome! Can you sing it for us? I'm not sure if I'd be able to pronounce it properly." She asked.

"But I-" Eira began to protest but she took a deep breath and sighed. "Don't say I didn't warn you. _Dacw 'nghariad i lawr yn y berllan,"_ Then she just sang. She had memorised the lyrics ages ago, it was a song her mother had sang to her as a child and Eira had always wanted to learn it so she could sing it if she had children. She would probably do it as a form of punishment.

There was a stunned silence after she finished the song and Eira couldn't exactly figure out why. She was an awful singer and the song must've sounded strange and weird to them. It was in a language no-one in this world knew.

"Wow…" Sokka said in shock. "That was… wow…" Eira blushed and looked down at the ground.

"What does it mean? It sounds really pretty." Aang asked.

"The lyrics roughly translate into a man wanting to see a woman who lives in a farm and how he'll wait for her, as long as he needs to." Eira said. "Sadly, I can't really do it justice. I'm not great at singing. "

"But that was awesome." Aang said.

"Can I hear an Air Nomad song? I guess since I'm an airbender, I should begin to learn more about the nomads."

Aang looked sheepishly at her and rubbed his neck awkwardly.

"I kind of, never really learnt any. Most songs were taught to the girls in the Eastern and Western Air Temples. Sorry." He said and Eira felt a flash of disappointment. It would've been cool to learn some more about the Air Nomads.

"Well, I'm not singing. Katara may know all of those songs but _I'm_ not into that kind of thing." Sokka said, preparing to get up. Katara smiled slyly as he walked past her.

"_Let the ocean guide you home, for the water knows the way. No matter how far you roam, it will lead you back to me."_ Katara sang sweetly.

"_If you lose your way somehow, just ask the moon to light your path. For the spirits of the sky and of the sea- they will always bring you back to me._" Sokka finished in a surprisingly light tone. Then his face turned bright red. "Katara!"

Eira and Katara giggled at Sokka's embarrassment. It was funny to see how sweet he could sound.

"Okay, that was pretty cool. You have a surprisingly good singing voice, Sokka." Eira complimented, still trying to recover from her giggling.

"Hah! Ha! Very funny." He said, his ears still red. "We should all get some rest." He climbed up on Appa and retrieved his and Katara's sleeping bags. He threw Katara's at her and laid his out on the floor.

"Okay, mope around. Just know that someday, you'll become a professional singer." Eira said as she also went up and retrieved her sleeping bag as well.

They all shared another laugh at Sokka and then they all settled down to go to sleep.


	20. Chapter 20- The Storm

**This will be a bit shorter than the actual episode since most of it was focused on Aang and Zuko's stories but I'll be focusing on what Sokka got up to, with the addition of Eira!**

**Thanks for staying with this, I love you guys and please review! (^o^)**

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Chapter 20: The Storm (and why I hate fishing)

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Eira didn't like having nightmares, but ever since she was thrown into this world she'd been getting a lot more of them a lot more frequently and a lot more vividly. It was annoying to say the least.

This time she found herself in a misty landscape and there were three figures in front of her, a man, a woman and a child, her mother, father and Jenna, all in a line in front of her.

"Mum, dad, Jenna? Is that you?" Eira asked nervously as she reached out to touch them. She wanted more than anything for them to real. She missed them more than anything. She missed her mother's warm smile, her father's terrible jokes and sarcastic behaviour so you could never tell if he was ever being serious and she even missed her sister's optimism and hyperactive nature!

As Eira looked at her family, she felt like crying. She'd been away from them for weeks, with no way back. Just as her hand reached out to grab her mother's a strong wind blew them apart.

"No… No!" Eira screamed as she pushed against the wind as it formed a barrier against her family. She pushed against it as hard as she could but it just became stronger, pushing her back, further and further away from her family. "MUM! DAD! JENNA!" Eira screamed, even louder. She looked around blindly for the source of the wind and as she found it, she felt herself being pulled even further away from her family.

The source… Was her… Eira saw a horrific image of herself but she had tattoos. He head was partially shaved to reveal her head tattoo and she was effortlessly created a wall of wind that blocked her family from her.

"What are you doing?!" Eira yelled to the horrific image of herself. "They're my family!" She just stayed expressionless as she continued to push her away from her family and out of her dream.

Eira's eyes snapped open and she sat straight up just as she saw Aang do the same thing, gasping for air. Momo jumped off Aang and leapt onto Katara's stomach, causing her to shoot straight up with a startled look on her face as Momo proceeded to jump on Sokka which made him sit up with a sleepy look on his face as he looked around, boomerang and machete in hand.

"What's going on?" He yawned as he turned around, searching for captors. "Did we get captured again?" Eira laughed silently, her nightmare preventing her from laughing out loud.

"It's nothing. I just had a bad dream." Aang said as he curled up, turning his back to them. "Just go back to sleep."

"Don't have to tell me twice." Sokka said groggily as he rolled on his side and closed his eyes in relief. _Well at least he can get back to sleep. _Eira thought, slightly bitterly.

"So, you too?" Eira said as she remembered her dream. Katara looked concerned at them.

"You two have been having a lot of nightmares lately. You want to tell me about it?" She asked. Eira shook her head and Aang shrugged her off, trying to hide how shaken he obviously was.

"I think I just need some more rest." Aang said as he began to close his eyes. Sokka suddenly sat up, excitedly.

"You guys wanna hear about my dream?" Sokka asked. Katara glared at him and he glared back. "Fine. I didn't want to talk about it anyway." He said, lying back down. Eira was a bit disappointed. She actually wanted to hear about it. His dream sounded funny and it'd be a great distraction.

Katara rolled her eyes and she lied back down in her sleeping bag. Eira also lay down in her sleeping bag and she tried to close her eyes, but images of her family haunted her mind and tears started to fill her eyes. Eira wanted to see them again. She'd do anything just to see them again.

* * *

Just before everyone else got up, Eira quietly got out of her sleeping bag and went to prepare some breakfast for all of them. Until she realised they had no food, and no money.

"Crud." She muttered quietly. She climbed on Appa and grabbed her bag from his saddle. Maybe she could find some nuts or berries or something so they'd at least have something to eat as they woke up.

Sadly, they were in a part of the forest with absolutely nothing. After about ten minutes of walking in a vain attempt at finding something to eat, she returned to their camp to find them all still sleeping peacefully.

"Wake up, everyone." She said as she entered the camp. Sokka groaned as he rolled over, trying to block out her voice. Katara and Aang woke up a bit more compliantly but still took a long time.

Eira charged over to Sokka.

"Sokka… Remember my waking up technique? Do you want to go through that again?" Apparently he remembered her blunt tactics and jumped up, still in his sleeping bag.  
"I'm up! I'm up!" He yelled as he leaped around, eventually falling on his face. He crawled out and Eira laughed, helping him up.

"Well, that woke you up. You should get up like that every morning." Eira said, giggling to herself. He leaned down and grumbled as he rolled up his sleeping bag, yet Eira could see him trying to supress a smile.

Eira helped Katara pack up the rest of her things and throw them up onto Appa's saddle. Eira jumped up onto Appa as Katara walked up Appa's slowly rising tail.

"Look at those clear skies, buddy!" Aang said happily as he gazed up at the brilliant blue sky. "Should be some smooth flying." Eira sat down on the saddle.

"Well, we need to stop at a market and find some money." Eira said and at that Sokka tensed.

"Wait. This was in my dream. We shouldn't go to the market." He said, surprisingly seriously. Katara looked worried.

"What happened in your dream?" She asked. Sokka's eyes bugged out in fright and he waved his fingers eerily.

"Food. Eats. People!" Katara shook her head and Eira laughed again. "Also, Momo could talk." Sokka began as he looked at Momo. "You said some very unkind things." Momo chittered innocently and Appa took flight.

It didn't take them long to find a market. It was near a port which made Eira nervous. If they were near the sea, Zuko could find them.

Eira forced herself to push those thoughts out of his mind. She didn't want to get too anxious and start acting even more weird. They probably thought people from her world were really strange.

Appa landed near a merchant stall and they all jumped off.

"First things first, we need to find some money." Eira said as she helped Katara down. "We don't have enough to buy any food."

"How about a job?" Katara suggested. Sokka looked at her sceptically.

"Yeah, right. Because jobs are always being given to kids randomly on the street." He said. Then suddenly an old man walked up to Sokka and Eira.

"Hey, you! I need some fishers as my wife is an old crone, who doesn't understand how storms work!" He said, raising his voice towards the end of his sentence to call out to his wife, who was glaring angrily at him.

Eira looked awkwardly at Sokka and then back at the man.

"Uhhh, will you pay?" Eira asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Sure, why not." He grumbled.

Sokka turned around to see his sister raising an eyebrow and smirking.

"Hah, hah. Fine." Sokka grumbled in mirror to the old man. Eira followed him unsurely.

The boat was small and made of wood with a pale, material sail. Large, weighted nets hung from the side of it.

Eira and Sokka first had to help the man load some supplies onto the boat, and by help, they had to do everything with the old man just watching or _"supervising"_ as he called it.

As they were loading, the sky had turned dark and grey as storm clouds blanketed the sky.

"Guys, maybe this isn't a good idea. The weather's getting pretty bad." Aang said nervously.

"Well, we can't exactly back out now. This _is_ this man's livelihood." Eira said, despite not really wanting to.

"The boy with the tattoos had some sense. You should listen to him." The fisherman's wife said grumpily. The old man stopped in his tracks.

"Boy with tattoos?" He muttered to himself. He turned around to look at Aang. He stared at Aang's electric blue arrow tattoos. "Airbender tattoos. Well, I'll be a hog monkey's uncle. You're the Avatar, ain't ya?" Katara smiled proudly at Aang as he also smiled at the old man.

"That's right." Katara said. The fisherman scowled.

"Well, don't be so smiley about it." He snapped. Katara and Aang's faces fell. Eira frowned as she walked past, placing a small barrel onto the ship. "The Avatar disappeared for a hundred years! You turned your back on the world!"

"Excuse me." Eira interrupted sharply. "If Aang "turned his back on the world" as you put it, then why would he be here now? You know nothing of the situation he was in that caused him to go away for a hundred years so why don't you just stop there."

The old man looked indignant at Eira's interruption and Eira suddenly shied away. She needed this job. She needed to stop talking like that. "I'm sorry. The weather's getting worse. It would be wiser to leave now." Eira quickly went to collect the last couple of supplies and put them onto the boat so she wouldn't offend him anymore.

Katara was still fuming though.

"Aang is the bravest person I know. He's done nothing but do his job, helping people and saving lives, ever since I met him. It's not his fault he disappeared." She protested protectively.

"Then I'm sure he can explain to me the reason he allowed a hundred years of war and suffering." The fisherman argued.

"I'm sure he can! Right, Aang?" Katara turned expectantly at Aang who was backing up, eyes wide in horror. Eira placed a bag on the floor and turned to look at Aang who was reaching for his glider.

"Aang? What's wrong?" Katara asked, noticing his horror-filled expression. Without answering, Aang grabbed his glider, flicked it open and flew off.

"That's right! Keep flying!" The old man said, shaking his fist at Aang, who was getting further and further away. _He's starting to annoy me._ Eira thought grumpily.

"We should be leaving now!" Eira called from the deck. Katara and Eira swapped concerned looks but Eira looked in the direction Aang flew off in and nodded to Katara. She could find Aang and she'd be on the boat earning some money.

Katara climbed onto Appa and flew off after Aang, creating a large wave of water and splashing the old man just as Sokka appeared from below deck, who had just finished transporting the supplies.

"Hey! They left without saying good-bye!" Sokka said in annoyance.

"Your friends ain't too polite, are they?" The old man grumbled. Eira turned to Sokka and tried to smile reassuringly.

"Aang's just gone to find shelter or something. Katara's with hi-"

"Yeah, yeah. Enough with the chattering. Get below deck." The old man said, cutting Eira off and handing her a heavy crate.

"Thanks." Eira grumbled as the man charged past her and up to the steering wheel. Eira turned and walked down the small wooden steps and down below deck to deposit the heavy crate.

She dropped it with a loud thud and brushed her hands off. Sokka was lazing around, leaning against the wall. The entire room stank of fish (shocker) and it was dimly lit by a single lantern hung on the wall that was flickered every time a small breeze went through the room. The room itself was cramped and poorly built.

Eira scoffed in distaste.

"He sure spent a lot on this." She muttered.

"Maybe the money he saved will be going towards out pay, eh, eh?" Sokka joked, them both knowing the man was probably just a cheapskate.

There was an awkward silence.

"Soooooooo…" Sokka started, attempting to break the silence. "I've, uh, kinda been wanting to ask you something." Eira looked up from staring at her feet.

"What is it?" She asked, intrigued.

"Back when that Fire Nation guy had us chained at that Fire Temple, you yelled something to him. And the other night when you were singing, you were singing in that same language. What exactly is it? Is it from your world?" Eira was surprised at his seriousness. He was genuinely interested.

"Yeah, it's the language of my country. It's called Welsh, and my country's called Wales. _Dw i'n caru cymraeg. Mae'n swnio'n pert._ That means, "I love welsh. It sounds pretty." And it does." Eira said. She sighed and looked up at the ceiling. "I miss home." She admitted sadly. Sokka nodded in understanding.

"I know what you mean. I miss the South Pole, Gran-Gran, all of those little warriors."

"You were so serious with them, it was quite funny." Eira commented, laughing.

Sokka puffed his chest out and struck a manly pose.

"Well, I was the warrior of the village. I was in charge of protecting them." He said with bravado.

They both laughed happily and so a second, they both enjoyed the subtle swaying of the boat as it travelled through the sea. Until they both heard a loud knocking from above them.

"Hey! Stop your daudlin' and start your work! I'm not payin' ya for nothin'!" The fisherman yelled from above deck. Sokka and Eira both groaned and grumbled as they made their way up the stairs and onto the deck.

"Yay!" Eira cheered sarcastically as a blast of cold wind hit her as did the sea spray. That combination was probably going to cause hypothermia.

She looked up to the old man and he pointed to his nets.

"Get workin'!" He yelled grumpily. The two teenagers both reached for the nets and as Sokka threw it overboard, letting it form a large closed net in the water, Eira did the same. She really had no idea about fishing and her best bet was to copy what Sokka did, who had been around fishing boats all of his life.

The boat moved slowly through the water but the growing wind and spitting rain was making it a bumpy ride. At one point, Eira was almost pitched overboard and she would've fallen in if it wasn't for Sokka pulling her back at the last minute.

Fishing was boring and awful. As soon as they pulled up the nets and let the fish pile up on the boat and the storm slowly surrounding them would pull them off again. It was harsh, horrid work and occasionally, when Eira would get too cold and/or wet, she would have to airbend the water off to try and stop her from getting hypothermia.

And during all of this, the old fisherman was doing practically nothing. All he did was complain and yell orders.

But Eira's little ray of hope was Sokka. He would help her and keep her entertained the whole time with his funny stories. He was telling Eira about his dream which she finally was able to listen to. It was very entertaining.

"We were all running away from a wave of evil rice and just as I was slicing it down with my knife, Momo suddenly came up and started to insult me. Despite my absolute awesomeness, he was saying things like "you are as cool as a koala-sheep in a heatwave" or "you're a pathetic turtle-duck"." Sokka turned to Eira, gesturing wildly with his hands. "I'm cool!"

Eira managed to laugh.

"Yep, as cool as a penguin on an iceberg." She said, keeping with the animal references. "I wish I had your type of dreams. Mine are just weird or emotionally scarring."

"So being eaten by a wave of rice isn't emotionally scarring? Your dreams are probably ten times better than the strangeness of mine." Sokka smiled confidently and they both laughed, but then they both noticed the storm getting much worse. The winds now battered the sails and almost ripped them from the mast and the waves of the dark sea fell on the deck, threatening to destroy the entire thing.

Sokka and Eira clung to the boat as it rocked from side to side. The old fisherman was shouting random nonsense at the sky as he struggled with the wheel. The rain was soaking them to the bone and the cold wind bit into their skin.

In the harsh wind, Eira couldn't even move. The boat rocked and lurched to the side. Eira screamed as the boat almost tipped and they both had to jump up to the mast to avoid being thrown off.

"I'm too young to die!" Sokka yelled as he hugged the mast.

"I'm not, but I still don't wanna!" The fisherman yelled back as he was hanging onto the mast's rope for his life.

Eira was hanging on as well. She did not want to die. The boat was thrown up and down as the waves became bigger and bigger.

"This is all your fault!" Eira yelled to the fisherman as she clenched her eyes shut to avoid the stinging rain and wind. Lighting forked around them and thunder rolled out, louder and brighter than Eira had ever seen before.

Then, out of the storm she looked up to see Appa.

"Aang!" She yelled, trying to make her voice heard above the storm. From the saddle, Aang jumped down as another strike of lightning hit the mast. It fell down on Aang but he struck it with four spouts of water, snapping it in half and leaving it to fall around Sokka, Eira and the fisherman.

Aang hurried about and grabbed a rope hanging from Appa's saddle. He threw it to them and they held onto it.

"Hang onto the rope." Aang instructed as he used airbending to jump onto Appa. "Yip yip." Appa flew into the sky and the rope swung around, making them swing up and land safely on Appa's saddle.

Eira was almost ready to feel safer but then as a shadow grew over them and she looked behind her, she saw a huge, black wave of water and it was towering over them, much higher than Appa. Eira's eyes widened in horror as it collapsed over them, sending her into a cold, icy blackness.

Eira felt the wood of Appa's saddle gently drift away from her, or was it the opposite? She couldn't open her eyes, she couldn't breathe. She couldn't do anything. Eira felt herself brush against Appa's fluffy fur as it floated around in the water. Her mind was becoming cloudy from the lack of oxygen and the water pressure. She didn't have a lot of time left.

Then a sudden burst of air threw itself around her, drying her and letting her fall onto Appa's now dry saddle. Appa burst out of the water and Eira felt the cold bit of the wind again, but this time it was better as it was air. She could breathe again.

Appa flew over and out of the storm. They flew over to a cave as Eira finally opened her eyes, the storm had vanished and the fisherman was climbing off Appa to greet his wife.

They both ran up to each other and hugged.

"Oh, you're alive!" She said happily. Then his wife pulled back and jabbed a finger at Aang, then back at her husband. "You owe this boy an apology." Aang just smiled at the fisherman.

"He doesn't need to apologise." He said. The fisherman thought for a while, then turned to his wife.

"What if, instead of an apology, I give him a free fish and we call it even?" He said, as if fish solved everything.

"Actually, I don't eat meat." Aang explained sheepishly.

"Fish ain't meat." The man said, utterly confused about why anyone wouldn't eat fish. Eira walked up to the man with Sokka.

"You are going to pay us, right?" Sokka said, his hand out for his earnings. The man handed him two fish.

"But I'm a vegetarian." Eira complained. She charged up to the man angrily. "Listen here! I didn't just do all of that work and not eat all day, just so you could pay me with something I can't even use! You are going to pay us with _actual_ money and you're going to like it!" She yelled. The man stepped back and looked to his wife for support. He got none.

He grumbled angrily as he handed her the coins. She took them gratefully and smiled at him, her prior intimidation, forgotten.

"Thank you, sir." The man looked confused and Eira smiled, it was nice to have at least some payback for his constant complaining and trying to swindle her.

The fisherman walked up to Aang and thanked him just as soon as the rain stopped. Sokka paused to listen.

"Do you hear that? It stopped raining." He said. They all went outside and Appa shook himself dry, causing everyone to be splashed.

"Appa!" Aang said, laughing. Eira, Sokka and Katara also joined in and Eira was relieved that she wouldn't have to be in that storm anymore.

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**Thanks for reading, hoped you liked it and please tell me what you think!**


	21. Chapter 21-The Masked Airbender

**Sorry this took so long, but I really like how this turned out.**

**I hope you like this and please review.**

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Chapter 21: The Masked Airbender

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After the storm Eira wasn't feeling great, she was sure that she had caught a cold. She could see that Sokka was also not doing so well. He was coughing and spluttering, but like her he was braving it, but unlike her he was clearing not fit to do so.

"Sokka, are you really okay? You're coughing really badly and you look hot." Eira said as they were walking through a small, dense forest. Her face immediately warm as she realised what she said. She waved her hands in defence and shook her head. "No, I mean you, uh, look like you have a temperature."

He tried for a smile but he broke down in a coughing fit. Katara raised her hand to his forehead and she pulled it back quickly.

"Sokka, you're burning up." She said, obviously concerned for he brother.

"We need to rest, Sokka isn't fit to continue." Eira said, looking around for a place to rest. She spotted a small, mossy temple at the top of a small cliff. It was made of stone with what looked like a strong structure and lined with green trees.

"Aang, can Appa take us up there?" Eira asked, pointing to the small temple. Aang nodded and he quickly climbed on Appa, leaving Eira and Katara to help Sokka up onto the saddle.

"Yip yip." Aang said to Appa as he flicked the reigns. Appa slammed his furry tail to the ground and he flew up to the temple smoothly.

It didn't take long to get there, but it did take forever to get Sokka off and into his sleeping bag. He was becoming dizzy and un-coordinated as well as delusional.

Eira laid Sokka's sleeping bag on Appa, which should be warm, and she started to think of ways to treat colds that she could put into practice with minimal materials.

_Okay, so bed rest, plenty of water, steam inhalation, healthy food… That should be doable. _Eira thought as she looked through their supplies.

"Okay, so what Sokka really needs is rest and plenty of water. That should be good enough to ease his symptoms." Eira said as she pulled out a small bowl and their fire-making equipment. "But I do know a trick. If he inhales steam, it should help clear his airways." She explained as she set it all up.

"And whilst we're doing that… Aang, could you try find some ginger root. Gran-Gran would always make a ginger root tea when we were sick." Katara said. Aang nodded and grabbed his glider.

"I'll find it!" He said happily as he flew off into the forest.

Eira lit the fire and placed the bowl of water on it.

"Could you use your waterbending to create some steam?" Eira asked as the water began to heat up.

"Sure." Katara said, happy to be able to practice her waterbending. She breathed deeply and moved her arms up suddenly, forcing the water to turn into steam. A lot of steam. The entire temple was covered in the billowing steam.

Katara moved her arms towards Sokka and he was completely covered in steam. _I'm not exactly sure __**that**__ much steam was needed._ Eira thought worriedly. Maybe it would help him stay hydrated as well? _I'll just go with that._

The steam eventually faded and Sokka was looking slightly better, as in his coughing wasn't raspy. But he was still coughing and his fever was getting worse. Sweat covered his face and he started to laugh weakly whenever Appa made a noise.

"Hah… Appa, you're a comedic genius… Hah…" He said. Appa bellowed and Sokka laughed again. It was getting quite disturbing. Her sister started acting weird when she had a fever as well but not like this.

Katara reached for a small cloth and soaked it in water, she twisted it, removing the excess, and placed it on Sokka's forehead.

"This should bring your fever down." Katara said, her voice motherly and caring.

"Hah…" Sokka laughed weakly again. "You know what I love about Appa most?" Sokka asked rhetorically. "His sense of humour."

"That's nice. I'll tell him." Katara said calmly as Sokka rolled his head to the side to look at Appa. Appa growled.

"Hah! Ha! Classic Appa…" He said, laughing a bit stronger now.

From behind them, Aang swooped in on his glider. He flicked it shut and looked at Sokka. He frowned in concern.

"How's Sokka doing?" He asked as he walked towards them.

"Not so good, being out in that storm really did a number on him." Katara said as she glanced back at her brother sympathetically. Sokka sniffed pathetically. Katara then looked at Eira. "Are you going to be okay, Eira? You were out in that storm as well."

"No, I'm fine. Every time I felt myself getting too cold or wet, I airbent myself dry." Eira explained reassuringly. True, she didn't feel great and she _did_ feel like a cold was coming on, but she didn't feel _bad_ per se.

Aang, reassured, continued on.

"I didn't find the ginger root you asked for but I _did_ find a map." Aang said, pulling out a weathered, old map. Eira walked over to them and looked at the map. Aang pointed to a small hill in the corner of the map.

"There's a small herbalist institute on top of that mountain. We could probably find a cure for Sokka there." Aang explained as they all looked at the map.

Katara walked back over to Sokka and checked his temperature again.

"Sokka's in no condition to travel. I'm sure he'll feel better soon." Katara said before breaking into a fit of coughing. Aang looked horrified.

"Oh, no. Not you too." He said. Katara looked shocked, and then shook her head.

"No, no. It's just a little cough. Relax, I'm fi-" She wasn't able to finish as she began coughing again.

"Katara. You are not okay. Sokka started out like that and now he's worse than I've ever seen." Eira said. "You are going to get some rest. I'm going to look after you both as Aang goes and looks for a cure." Eira instructed.

Eira pulled out Katara's sleeping bag and laid it on Appa next to Sokka. Eira pointed to the sleeping bag.

"You need rest." Eira said to Katara. "Try and get back as soon as possible." Eira said to Aang. He nodded and reached for his glider, than a roll of thunder and a flash of lightning stopped him.

"Uh… Maybe I'll just walk." He said as he nervously placed his glider back against the pillar it was leaning on. He leaped off the building and sped down the forest in a trail of dust.

Eira was getting worried. She did know the cure and she could get some water if they needed it but she didn't exactly know where to get any of them. From what she saw, Aang travelled a great distance before he reached the herbalist institute.

"Eira?" She heard Sokka say. Eira turned around, shaking her worried thoughts from her mind. Aang would be safe in the end. She needed to remember that.

"Yes, Sokka."

"Please, water?" He asked weakly. He really wasn't doing well. Maybe it wasn't just a cold or the flu.

"Of course." Eira went through their supplies but then realised she used the water for the steam. "Crap. I thought we had some more." Eira muttered.

"Katara, I'm going to get you some water." Eira said as she slung her bag over her shoulder.

"Take that, you rock. And that. And that." Sokka said, jabbing his arms out in front of him, as if he was earthbending. Then, something occurred to her. They were perilously close to a Fire Nation base. She'd need some protection that _didn't _involve airbending. It'd be dangerous to out herself as an airbender if she needed to defend herself.

Eira spotted Sokka's knife gleaming next to him. Cautiously, she picked it up and slid it into her belt.

"Sorry." She whispered. "I need to borrow this." Eira walked down the cliff, which was slippery from all of the rain, and she frowned deeply. It would've been great if it was still raining, but noooo. She needed to find a river instead, and maybe some frozen wood frogs, if it came to that.

Seeing no clear sign of a river nearby, Eira decided to run further uphill. She would be able to spot something from there. Or not, she didn't really know a lot of survival skills. _Maybe I should've gone to guides._ Eira thought, smiling. If she had known that she'd be thrown into this world, she _definitely_ would've learnt some new skills.

She laughed humourlessly as she ran up to the top of the hill, and she was pleasantly surprised to find that she wasn't as breathless as she should be. Apparently constantly fighting for your life put you in better shape. It wasn't exactly like she was _un_fit before, but she wasn't the healthiest and had absolutely no stamina, people tended to take advantage of that when she fought them or had to enter sporting competitions.

"Alright." Eira said as she surveyed the area. "Where are you, water?" She muttered to herself. The valley beneath her was gorgeous. It was full of lush green trees and mossy, stone buildings of what used to be. It smelt clean and pure and she could easily hear the sound of birds chittering happily. But no visible rivers or streams. That was a problem.

Eira fingered the leather water skin in her hands impatiently. Katara and Sokka needed that water. Her blue eyes narrowed as she attempted to scout out a source of running water. Nothing.

Eira threw up her hands in frustration. Why was it she could never find anything she needed?

She trudged back down the hill (well, actually skidded) and she looked around some more. She tried to remember any books she may have read with some hints on how to find water. She remembered in The Hunger Games, they found water by locating mud, but it had just been raining. How would she find any wa-

"Ahhhhhhhhh!" A yell cut through Eira's thoughts and her feet turned cold. That was Aang. Eira turned around and grabbed Sokka's knife from her belt as she ran forwards, towards the location of the scream. They had found Aang. _Crap!_

Eira jumped up into a tree, using her airbending to propel herself up further so she could reach a branch. She waved her arms around as she wobbled, trying to get balanced and when she finally secured herself on the tree she began darting between branches.

Eira didn't really care about how she was likely to fall and how she didn't really have the right balance to do it as swiftly as maybe Jet, or his friends. She just cared about staying hidden and getting there quickly.

It was quite fun, to jump between trees, and Eira decided to focus on that, rather than have to focus on the danger she was putting herself in.

She made her way to a small, muddy clearing and she looked around in horror. Arrows littered the ground and the murky, frozen water was disrupted. It was splashed everywhere and several trees were snapped.

The archers and Aang fought here. Eira sat down on the branch she was on and tapped her head in frustration. _Think, Eira! Think! Try and remember where they took Aang! _She thought quickly as her mind flicked through the episode. She remembered them with Sokka, then Aang went to that old cat lady, then he fought the archers and then he was in prison… Dammit!

Eira's best bet was to follow any tracks she could find to the best of her ability, which wasn't much, but it was something.

She jumped down to the muddy ground and looked closely. The mud was disturbed as if someone was dragging something heavy along the floor. The trail stopped as it went onto the grass, but even then the grass was slightly flattened. Also, the area around it looked like it had been hit but a strong gust of wind. Eira looked ahead and saw that pattern continued.

_Amazing archers, not so amazing kidnappers._ She thought as she allowed herself to smile slyly.

She jumped up and followed the path, thinking of all the ways everything could go wrong. _Brain, I really hate you…_

o.O.o

The path eventually led to a road, and that road was thankfully bordered by a rim of trees. It was almost going too well. Along the way, Eira had re-adjusted her scarf to cover the majority of her face as she'd almost been noticed when she had past two disgruntled and windswept Fire Nation lookouts, it had been close. One of them saw her and she had to push them back with a dust cloud before vanishing.

Ever since then she'd been getting jumpy. She was stopping every couple of minutes and every time she heard anything, she'd whip out the knife. She needed to calm down! If she continued like this, she'd just blow her cover as soon as she got near the Fire Nation camp.

Eira stopped and took several slow deep breaths to calm her erratic pulse. She closed her eyes and snapped them open, her mind clearing. She pushed her scarf above her nose and she began to sprint off towards the end of the road.

She jumped onto a tall tree and surveyed the area. The sky was overcast and it was dark as night was approaching. The trees completely stopped in a circle around the base that would make it difficult to get in stealthily.

The base itself was surrounded by layers of walls with a large gate in the centre. Sentry posts were evenly spaced between themselves on the walls and the building was tall with a layered, spiked roof.

It reminded her of the Fire Temple, and of course, what happened there _wasn't_ a complete and utter disaster which almost ended with them perishing in molten lava... Eira wasn't very hopeful that this would turn out much better.

She shook her head to clear her thoughts again. She needed a way to get in. She very much doubted that she could single-handedly go and charge in there through the front gates, so stealth was the only way to go.

A small carriage was passing her as she thought and Eira thought that she could go and sneak in through that, but a small glint of a steel sword and a blue mask made her think otherwise. Zuko was occupying that. She'd have to find another way. Somehow…

Eira stood there, surveying the area for weaknesses and found it. As soon as the carriage approached the doors, the guards all went to focus on it. She could use that lapse in concentration to speed past them.

Her mind set, Eira readied herself. She crouched slowly and as soon as the guards ducked to look under the vehicle, she ran.

She was silent and swift, not leaving any visible trace. She darted up the wall with surprising ease, why was it that her airbending was easier to do when she wasn't trying to directly manipulate the air?

She leaped up onto the wall and ducked onto the roof, happy that she hadn't been seen. She slid the knife out of her belt again and ran down into the main building. Every time she saw a guard she punched at them and just before she made contact, a blast of air would slam them into the metal walls, knocking their heads inside their helmets and knocking them out cold. A pang of guilt tore through her but she continued anyway, ignoring it.

They shot fire at her but she dodged it, turning the circle to avoid them with ease. She grabbed her knife and slammed it down on one guard's helmet and she elbowed another in the gut. _Wow, you'd think the Fire Nation soldiers would do better than this._ Eira thought as she tore through them.

Eira was breathing heavily and heard hurried footsteps coming her way. Trouble. Eira looked around for a way out, but she saw a frog hopping out from under a door… A frog… It was Aang's cell! No wonder there were so many guards.

Eira stepped over a man and picked at the lock. It took a few minutes but the door clicked open with satisfying _click_. Eira sighed in relief but then she felt a small shiver go up her spine. Danger! She turned around impossibly quickly and held her knife at her attacker's throat.

She came face to face with a blue and white smiling mask.

"Well hello, Blue Spirit." Eira said, whispering with a smirk. "Or should I say Prince Zuko?" He flinched in shock, not moving too much as Eira's (well, technically Sokka's) knife was still hovering under his mask.

"What are you doing here?" He hissed from under his mask, recognising her under her scarf..

"The same as you. Rescuing Aang, but _unlike_ you I have good intentions." Eira hissed back as she withdrew her knife. She slid open Aang's door and saw him flailing around, trying to vainly get his half-frozen frogs to come back to him.

His cell was time times nicer than what hers had been. Two podiums burst from the floor with metal chains going from them to Aang's wrists. A strong lamp burned in the corner and more scarlet Fire Nation banners hung from the ceiling.

Aang looked up to see Eira and Zuko step in. He lifted his head and beamed at her.

"Ei-" He began but Eira immediately shushed him. He seemed to understand and nodded his head, but he looked quizzically at Zuko, or the Blue Spirit, and then back at Eira.

"I'll explain later. We just need to get out of here, now." Eira whispered as she moved closer to him, brandishing Sokka's knife. She raised it above her head and slammed it down on Aang's bindings and thankfully they fell off without her hitting Aang's hands.

She sighed in relief and helped him stand up properly as he rubbed his sore wrists. He then suddenly started squirming and more half-frozen frogs jumped out of his clothes.

Zuko, who had apparently gotten tired of this, reached out to grab Aang's hands to drag him out but Eira slapped his hand away.

"No." she growled. She grabbed a few frogs and stuffed them into her bag. "Now, we can go." Zuko nodded and he began to run out, Aang and Eira following.

Aang gingerly stepped over the still-unconscious guards and stared at them in shock but Eira grabbed his hand and tugged at it, urging him to continue.

They sprinted through the metal corridors and Zuko motioned to a small grate. He popped it open with one of his swords, which Eira hadn't really looked at until now.

They had very long and sharp single-edged blades with leather-wrapped hilts with small blue tassels at the end of them. They were surprisingly quite elegant and well-polished.

He motioned to the open grate, still not talking so Aang would question him. Eira scowled at him.

"No, I insist. You first." She said, gesturing to the grate. Zuko seemed to roll his eyes under his mask but he seemed to realise that she wasn't going to budge on the matter and jumped in. Into the sewage water under the base. _Yayyyy…_

Eira jumped in after Zuko and Aang jumped in after her. The water was horrible, slimy and surprisingly opaque. It wasn't pleasant to say the least. The smell wasn't going to get out of her head in a while. She kind of wanted to complain but she didn't want to appear like a whiner.

They walked under some wooden grates and Eira took a sharp intake of breath as several footsteps walked above them, mostly because they could see them but also just the paranoia that they could fall through. It was just an irrational thing that she always never could trust.

They walked past without any problem and Eira exhaled quietly as they all walked through the water.

Eira spotted another grate and blasted it open once she made sure no one was around. She leaped out and pulled Aang up.

She reached into her bag and pulled out some rope. She wrapped it around her knife and threw it up into the wall, it landed on the wall and the force made it wrap itself around one of the small column jutting out of the wall. Eira tugged at it and it held firm.

She gestured to the rope and Aang began to climb up it. Zuko jumped out of the water and began to climb the rope. Eira looked around worriedly and then she spotted some guards. _CRAP!_

"There on the wall!" She heard a soldier yell. Eira quickly pulled down the rope to avoid Aang and Zuko being slashed at by the guard at the top of the wall. They both fell to the ground, Aang screaming, and she cringed as they were about to hit the ground but Aang luckily airbent a soft cushion of air, breaking their fall.

"Ah, sorry about that." Eira apologised hurriedly as she caught the knife and rope. Zuko took out his swords and looked up at an ornate balcony where the monkey-faced Zhao himself was standing.

"The Avatar has escaped! Close all the gates immediately!" He shouted angrily, stirring his incompetent soldiers to charge for them and they all began to run for the now-closing gates.

"Stay close to me." Aang commanded as they all ran for the gates that were blocked by a wall of firebenders.

Aang airbent a blast of air that blew them out of the way but suddenly a slash of a spear caught Eira's eye. She raised her knife to block the blow and she kicked the man in his stomach, pushing him away as another soldier came in for another slash.

She jumped up and landed on the man's spear, snapping it as she slammed her knife into his helmet. Eira looked around and saw Zuko was in a similar situation. Eira dodged another slash and she struck another man with the hilt of her knife.

From behind her, Aang stole a spear from a firebender, blasted him out of the way as he span it around and broke the spear tip on the ground. He charged towards them and span it around, creating a gust that cleared the Fire Nation soldiers around them in a perfect circle.

The moved over and did the same to the soldiers around Zuko but they were still surrounded. How many soldiers did _one_ base need?!

Eira stole another spear and shattered the tip, just like how Aang did. She wanted some distance and she didn't want to actually maim them. She hated blood, especially if she was the cause of it showing.

"Hold onto me!" Aang yelled to Zuko as he twirled the spear around and used it as a propeller, lifting him and Zuko up. Eira began wanted to do the same but instead she just blasted everyone away. She decoded to just run up onto the top of the wall instead.

Aang and Zuko were starting to lose height so Eira jumped up and pushed them further into the air. Aang and Zuko crashed into the wall, Aang's spear/staff spinning off and they were all swarmed with more guards.

"_Cachu_!" Eira yelled and the confusion of hearing the strange, unfamiliar word was perfect. She slammed her stick into them and they were knocked off the wall, landing softly onto their comrades. Eira smiled under her scarf and then silently scolded herself. She shouldn't be having fun or enjoying this.

Zuko was throwing a guard off the wall as Aang airbent them over the top. They all fought as a pretty good team.

They were setting up ladders now, bamboo ladders with a lot of firebenders on them. Sounds like a bad combination.

Eira ran up to the ladders and jabbed her stick at the person on top, causing him to fall down along with all of the others.

Eira reached for the surprisingly light ladder and swung it around, straining her muscles as it slammed into the other ladders, toppling them over.

Aang was also carrying a ladder, two in fact, and he passed it to Zuko.

"Take this. Jump on my back." He yelled as he jumped onto the ladder and Eira leaped after them, carrying her ladder in hand as well.

The three escapees all wobbled on the ladders as Aang began to use them as stilts to move across the courtyard to the next, final wall.

"Give me the next one!" Aang ordered as they were almost at the end of the ladder. Zuko passed him his ladder and they all made another step, but Eira began to feel something hot and she realised the ladder she was holding was on fire!

The heat forced her to let go and it crashed into more firebenders below them.

A single firebender shot up a stream of fire but he was too late they had almost made it to the last wall. They all jumped and Eira and Aang tried to use their airbending to give them an extra burst but as they all grabbed the wall, their grip slipped and they all fell, surrounded by firebenders.

Zuko drew his swords again but as four firebenders fired at them. Both Aang and Eira dispersed the fire with a powerful sphere of air. The fire formed a deadly, hot orb around them before it disappeared completely.

"Hold your fire!" Eira heard Zhao yell as he moved forwards towards them. "The Avatar must be captured alive!" And as quick as the drop of a hat, Zuko grabbed his dual swords and crossed them in front of Aang's throat. Eira pushed her scarf up higher on the bridge of her nose and she stared angrily at Zhao.

"Open the gates, or the Avatar dies and your little search starts _all _over again." She threatened menacingly, growling at Zhao. He seemed to recognise her voice and even if he didn't believe she would have Aang killed, he probably did believe Zuko's expressionless mask and sharp steel blades.

He scowled at them all.

"Open the gates." He ordered through gritted teeth. The people around him looked at him with disbelief.

"Admiral, what are you doing?" An officer asked.

"Let them out, now!" He ordered again. The gate behind them slowly rose and Eira and Zuko backed up, never turning their backs to the firebenders. Eira narrowed her eyes in suspicion at Zhao and as they got past the gate, she saw Zhao begin to smirk.

They backed up quicker and as they began to reach the edge of the forest for a quick cover but suddenly Eira got that small shiver up her spine. She immediately threw up her arms in a defensive position and an arrow was diverted into a tree, going right through it. And that had been directed at her. That would've killed her.

Another arrow shot at them and this time it struck Zuko right in the mask. He fell down, slumped on the ground.

"Aang!" She yelled as she reached down to pick him up. He nodded and threw up his arms, just like Eira had but this time the dirt and dust around their feet was blasted up into the air, creating a large dust cloud, covering them.

Eira began to carry/drag Zuko and she just ran. The dust was awful and it stung her eyes but they both didn't stop until they were deep in the forest.

Eira dumped Zuko near a tree root and she sat/fell to the floor, exhausted. She watched helplessly as several frogs hopped out of her bag and hopped away into the forest. Aang was resting next to her, leaning against a tree.

"Thanks for rescuing me, Eira." Aang said as he smiled at her.

"Don't thank me, we would've both been captured if Zuko here didn't come as well." She said as she kicked Zuko gently, rolling him over slightly. His mask partially fell off, revealing the scared half of his face.

Aang looked at her in disbelief.

"You knew who he was and you still allowed him to help." He asked incredulously.

"Yeah." Eira said as she looked up at the dark sky. "Despite his goals and his reason for rescuing you, he was still helpful and would do whatever he could to take you away from that commander, no, Admiral Zhao." Eira explained as she got up slowly. Then something caught her eye.

She looked at Zuko carefully and she almost couldn't believe it. Tucked into his belt was Katara's necklace. _Why would he have brought it here? Maybe he suspected my plan to steal it back?_ Eira thought as she picked it up. The dark navy choker and shimmering carved blue stone with the intricate wave pattern on it. It was Katara's, no doubt.

Eira pocketed it quickly and turned back to Aang.

"We should leave. They could be still searching, no scratch that. They're definitely still searching for us." She said sadly as she looked in the direction of the base.

Aang looked back at Zuko and then back at Eira.

"We can't leave him. I had so many friends from the Fire nation when I was younger, maybe if we show him kindness, he'll help us more." Aang said. Eira folded her arms and looked at Zuko. _He won't help us until we get to the third season._ Eira thought, but looking at Aang's pleading grey eyes, her resolve crumpled.

"Okay, we'll wait until he wakes up, but once he does, we're out of here." Eira said in defeat. She stared out into the direction of the base and imagined Zhao's insanely angry chimpanzee face.

_His sideburns really do make him look like a chimpanzee._ Eira thought, chuckling a little bit. It was good to have something to laugh about when she had realised someone just had tried to kill her. That arrow had pierced right though that tree. And it had been aimed at her.

"Eira, did you have a lot of friends in your world?" Aang asked sadly.

"Not really. I had some friends, but none that I considered my best friend." Eira said simply. She paused. "But I really miss my family." She admitted.

"It's kinda the opposite for me." Aang said. "The monks separate us from our parents at birth, so we have no worldly attachments to distract us from enlightenment. I have no idea who my parents are, but I had so many friends, from all over the world. I loved visiting Bumi and seeing his crazy ideas, I loved seeing Kuzon and getting into trouble with him…" Aang trailed off and his eyes glazed over sadly, lost in thought of his friends.

It was an odd coincidence. Both of the airbenders in this world were people ripped out of their lives. Aang practically going forwards a hundred years in time, and Eira literally from another world. They were unique and they were both never going to completely adapt to this new world they found themselves in.

But they all had each other and no matter what, they would have their friends as well.

Eira saw Zuko move in the corner of her eyes and she jumped up. She saw Zuko stare at them for a second, his amber coloured eyes flickering open, then he let out a stream of fire against them.

Knowing he wasn't fit enough to follow them, Eira and Aang leaped up into the trees and sprinted away, leaving the prince behind and Eira found the energy to smile. She had Katara's necklace. Now he couldn't use that weird animal and hunter to follow them. Score one for Eira!

Since the frogs had hopped away, Eira and Aang stopped by the bog to collect more frozen frogs and some water. Eira was kicking herself for forgetting to go back and give Sokka and Katara their water.

It was a slow arduous walk back to the temple. Neither of them really had the strength to run or fly or anything else.

They arrived at the old building, exhausted and hurt and after sucking on those frogs for a while they spat them out and they were both running around, wiping their mouths in a desperate attempt to get rid of the frog taste.

Despite everything that had happened Eira couldn't help but laugh.

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**Hope you all liked this chapter.**

**Please review :D**


	22. Chapter 22- Predictions

**'K, I combined the original chapter that was here with the finished version so it's a one-parter. I hope you enjoy the refined, finished version of the Fortune Teller and please tell me what you think of it.**

* * *

Chapter 22: Predictions

* * *

Eira looked happily at Katara, the necklace hidden in her hands behind her back. Katara looked happy as well but she looked weary from her previous illness and the shock of realising that she was sucking on a frozen frog they found in a bog. Her bright blue eyes were shadowed and her normally neat hair was out of its plait, falling down her back in a wavy brown curtain.

"Katara, I found something I think you might like." Eira said cryptically. She raised an eyebrow at the older airbender.

"What?" She asked, curiously.

"Close your eyes." Eira instructed. Katara complied, wanting to know where this was going. Eira pulled out the necklace and tied it around Katara's neck, fastening it at the back.

After making sure it was secure and in place, Eira smiled.

"Open them." Katara's eyes snapped open and as she looked down at her neck, she smiled wider than Eira had ever seen.

Katara leaped up and hugged Eira tightly.

"Thank you so much, Eira! This means more to me than you know." She said, squealing in delight. Eira hugged her back, smiling widely at Katara's enthusiasm_. I know more than you think_. Eira thought as she remembered what happened to her mother. It was practically all she had left of her. Eira wished that she could've brought something like that. Something to remind her of her family, other than her memories.

o.O.o

Their camp that morning was rather subdued. The morning sun shone lazily down on them and sparkled on the crystalline water. They all sat around the burnt out campfire and in front of their two blue Water Tribe tents.

The area was beautiful, tall cliffs rose out of the river and green, bushy trees populated the entire area.

Aang was twiddling with something in his hand as Eira wrote about her world. It was a bit odd as she found out Aang, Katara and Sokka couldn't read her writing, but she managed to understand their writing. Maybe it was more of the spirits messing with her. But on learning that, she began to write about important things she remembered from the show before she could forget them. Sadly, she couldn't remember a lot of episodes.

In the corner of her eye she saw a giant fish suddenly leap out of the water. It leaped through the air and landed with a big splash back into the water.

Katara got up and pointed at it.

"Look!" She said excitedly. Sokka rose to his feet to stare at the fish. It burst out of the water again and splashed back down into the water.

"It's taunting us." He said so seriously, Eira fought to supress laughter. He ran back to camp, pushing Eira slightly to try and find something in the supplies next to her.

"Hey." Eira protested, though she wasn't really annoyed. He grabbed a long pole and waved it about.

"You are so going to be dinner." He yelled at the fish as he pointed the stick at the water, but nothing happened.

He looked at the pole and looked confused. "Hey, where's the fishing line." He asked. Oh, it was a fishing pole. Eira thought. She'd been wondering why he was getting a random stick. She really should've figured it out from context.

Aang looked suddenly sheepish. His face went pink as he looked guiltily at Sokka.

"Oh, I didn't think you would need it." He explained as he took the thing he'd been twiddling with and presented a small woven bracelet with a small white pebble attached to it.

Sokka walked over and examined the bracelet and his face fell.

"Aw, it's all tangled." He whined. Aang stood up and took the bracelet back.

"It's not tangled. It's woven." He turned to Eira and presented it to her. "I made this for you, as a thank you for rescuing me." Eira looked up, surprised and took the bracelet from him gratefully.

"Thanks Aang, it's beautiful." She said as she looked at it closer. The pebble had been carved with an Air Nation symbol with three little swirls if air in a circle. It was brilliantly made.

Eira put it on her right wrist and got up to hug Aang.

"Thanks. I love it."

Sokka wasn't impressed.

"Great, Aang. Maybe instead of this "saving the world", Avatar-y business, you should go into jewellery making." He said sarcastically as his knuckles twisted around the pole.

Aang shrugged Sokka's sarcasm off with a toothy smile.

"I don't see why I can't do both." He said optimistically. Sokka turned back to the water and stared at the fish, which was jumping in and out of the water.

"Stop taunting me!" He yelled at the fish, throwing the pole at the fish in frustration. He missed and the fish continued to leap around, unharmed.

He yelled in frustration again and turned to grab his knife as he walked into the water towards the fish. He slashed at the fish but the fish continuously evaded him, causing Sokka to almost fall into the water.

Katara laughed and walked over to Eira. She sat down next to her and looked at her new bracelet.

"It looks really pretty." Katara said. She looked over at Aang and smiled. "You have a great talent. Maybe you could make me one." Katara joked. Aang blushed and smiled, his obvious crush showing.

"It wouldn't be as pretty as you." He said nervously.

Sokka, who was currently wrestling with the fish, made smooching motions as he puckered his lips.

"Smoochie, smoochie! Someone's in _loooove._" He said in a mocking sing-song voice. Aang's face became even redder.

"I…well, uh… I, duh, um." Aang said, embarrassed as he attempted to form a coherent reply. Katara frowned at him and patted Aang on the back reassuringly.

"Don't tease him, Sokka. Aang's a sweet, little guy. He's just a good friend, just like Momo." Katara said, tickling Momo's chin as he perched on Aang's shoulder.

Eira almost physically cringed. _Ouch! Friendzoned._ Eira thought. Even by friendzoning standards, that was bad. Aang looked incredibly dismayed.

"Thanks." He said quietly, obviously disappointed.

Sokka walked out of the water, completely drenched, annoyed and empty-handed. He looked like he was going to comment on something but Eira heard a large roar and Momo squawked in distress.

Eira ran over to a small rock that overlooks a small valley beneath then and she saw a man in a blue Earth Kingdom outfit and a six foot tall platypus-bear slashing at him.

Despite the danger, Eira had to take a second to observe the platypus-bear. It was taller than a regular bear, but that may have just been because it was standing on its hind legs and black webbed-feet, and also that Eira had never really been this close to a real bear.

It was brown and reassembled a brown bear, maybe, as it had a cream arrowhead on its chest but it had a dark platypus bill as well. It raised the question, why did they call it a platypus-bear when neither platypi nor bears existed in this world?

The bear slashed at the man and it brought reality back to Eira. The man calmly dodged the bear's two-inch claws and served to the side.

"Sir! Just hold on!" Eira yelled as she began her decent down to help the man. Sokka, Aang, Katara following her down the hill.

The man stayed surprisingly calm, calm to the point that Eira was wondering if he was a masochist. As the platy-bear swiped at the man and growled menacingly, the man just calmly ducked and smiled the whole time.

"Hello. Nice day we're having, isn't it?" He said as he dodged another blow from the platy-bear.

Eira was really questioning his sanity._ Who stays that calm when on the verge of being mauled?! _She thought in disbelief. _I'd be running like the wind… Maybe literally with my airbending._

"Make a lot of noise and it'll run off!"

"No, play dead. It'll loose interest!" The bear slashed at him again and the man swerved away swiftly with ease.

"Woah, close one! Hah, ha!" The man laughed, ignoring their advice. _Yep, insane._

"Run downhill and climb a tree!"

"Run in zig-zags!"

"Punch it in the bill!" They kept on yelling contradicting advice at the man but he stayed calm and brushed them off.

"No need. It's all going to be fine." He said, still smiling. _Maybe not a masochist, probably suicidal._ Eira thought as she stared incredulously at the smiling man.

The platypus–bear reared up even taller on its webbed feet and prepared a final, fatal blow. Aang, realising this, jumped in-between them and as he landed a small gust of wind pushed it back a bit.

Confused, the bear paused but it quickly got over it and roared at Aang, ready to strike him but Appa roared at it. The sky bison towered over the platypus-bear and it completely froze up, suddenly laying an egg in fear. It recovered quickly and ran off into the river on all fours, swimming faster away with the use of its square beaver-like tail.

Sokka ran over to collect the egg, licking his lips in anticipation.

"Yum, dinner." He said, quickly receiving a sharp elbowing to the chest from Eira.

"At least ask the man if he's alright before thinking about your stomach." Eira scolded, hands on hips. His face fell as he pulled his mind away from food and he turned to look at the ever-smiling man. Seriously, Eira was going to light his moustache on fire just to see if he could stop smiling.

"Good thing we arrived or you'd be in serious trouble." Sokka said. Eira sighed. It was the best she was going to get.

"Are you alright, sir? Did that bear, um, platypus-bear hurt you?" Eira asked. "And are you completely insane? That bear was attacking you, how were you staying so calm?" She added, really wanting to know what this man had been taking.

"Yes, I am perfectly fine, that bear did not leave a scratch on me and to answer your other questions, I am completely sane. Aunt Wu predicted I'd have a safe journey and knowing that, I knew that that platypus-bear could not harm me." He explained, apparently taking no offence at being called insane.

"Aunt who?" Aang asked, cocking his head to the side in confusion.

"No, Aunt Wu. She's the fortune teller from my village." The man explained and Eira groaned. This was the fortune teller episode, and there was nothing that didn't mix more than her and superstitious people. She saw everything logically and never liked the idea of blindly following something based on your hand or a bone crack. So what if it made her look narrow-minded.

"But fortune telling is nonsense!" Sokka protested.

"And you didn't have a safe journey. It doesn't matter if it didn't scratch you but safety isn't just coming out alive, it's also about not having the _risk_ of being killed and I think almost being mauled by a platypus-bear _doesn't_ count as risk free." Eira explained, crossing her arms defensively.

Doubt flickered across his face and for a sweet second his smile faltered, but then came back.

"But I am safe." _GAHHHHHH!_

"Wow. It must be really cool to know your future." Katara said in awe.

"You should see her." The man said. Then, suddenly remembering something he pulled out a long, thin package and presented it to Aang. "Madam Wu said to give this to any travellers I see." He said and with that he walked away.

"Maybe we should see her." Katara said. "It would be cool to hear our futures." Sokka and Eira stared at her in disbelief.

"Come on. Fortunetelling is a bunch of nonsense." Sokka protested.

Aang looked down at the package and just like any kid presented with a present, he ripped it open with absolutely no care whatsoever to reveal a small stick with some red material attached to it. It clicked open and revealed an umbrella, and then it bucketed down.

"What do you know? An umbrella." Aang said as he looked around at the heavy rain around him.

Eira and Sokka were drenched immediately and Eira quickly took cover under the umbrella as did Katara, who was completely dry thanks to her waterbending. Eira was so jealous, she wished that she could do that. Waterbending had always appealed to her because it looked so cool and you could do so much with it. Why couldn't she have been taken here by Tui and La?

"Still think fortune telling is nonsense, Sokka?" Katara asked as she looked out at Sokka who was standing outside the umbrella, holding the egg and a grumpy expression.

"Yes! No one can _really_ tell the future." Sokka protested, holding the egg over his head in an attempt to shield himself from the rain.

Katara smiled smugly.

"I guess you're not _really_ getting wet then." Sokka began to step forwards and retort but he suddenly lost his grip on the egg and it flew up into the air. He flailed his arms around in an attempt to catch it but it was going to fall right on his face so Eira, in attempt to save it, shot her hand out to cushion it with some air but instead she let out a massive jet of air that smashed the air against a nearby tree and Sokka's clothes and hair were dried for a second and blown backwards but they were again drenched again by the rain.

He looked very annoyed and Eira rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Thanks Eira. That helped, a lot…" He said sarcastically.

"Uh, sorry." She quickly apologised.

They all walked towards the village under the umbrella with the exception of Sokka who walked stubbornly next to them in the rain and Appa, who plodded behind them.

"Of course she predicted it was going to rain. The sky's been grey all day!" He grumbled, still annoyed.

"That's what fortunetellers base their predictions on. They just make predictions on observations or say things that always happen. They usually just hope people can't see through it." Eira said as they all walked. "I could predict that the future. I predict that it will stop raining soon."

"But it's bucketing down…" Sokka began, trailing off as he felt the rain start to dissipate and the sky clearing.

"Bu-But…H-How?" Sokka stuttered. Eira shrugged, smiling.

"I'm psychic." She said sarcastically. _I just guessed._ She thought, a bit guiltily.

o.O.o

The village was a very pretty and well-designed place. A mountain sat behind it, its peak covered in snow and a memory sparked in Eira. That was the volcano that erupted at the end of the episode.

Eira's pulse quickened slightly. She had always hated natural disasters. Seeing things like tsunamis, earthquakes and volcanoes in the news had always made her glad she lived in Britain, the world's least meteorologically exciting place in the world. They got rain, clouds and the occasional sun or snow. That was it.

They walked through the village and Eira stepped carefully to avoid the, um, turkey-chickens? Turkey-ducks? They were some sort of bird combined with a turkey. They had white plumage and sharp grey beaks that Eira personally didn't want to get near to.

They passed several people and as they walked up to a grand building a man dressed in black robes opened the door for them.

"Aunt Wu is expecting you." He said cryptically and he waved them through. Eira scoffed. _Sure she is._

"Really?" Katara said excitedly. She was so buzzed at the prospect of knowing her future, it was kind of sad.

They all walked through the doorway Sokka looking disgusted that they were actually going along with it all and they all looked around the room. Three small cushions sat on the dark wooden floor and the walls were decorated with silk banners and intricate patterns on the oriental, translucent wood-lined walls. The room was beautiful. _Is this wold going to stop impressing me?_ She thought as she examined the room.

A girl around Aang's age stood in front of them. She wore a pink robe, had a tanned complexion and dark hair tied in two braids held up on the side of her head. She had a small button nose and gapped front teeth. She looked really cute and sweet.

"My name is Meng, and I'm Aunt Wu's assistant." She said sweetly, and then as she looked at Aang her eyes widened and her eyes softened as she stared at him. She looked like Aang when he was daydreaming about Katara. "Well, hello there." She said dreamily.

Aang simply rubbed his nose in disinterest.

"Hello."

Katara and Aang walked over to the pillows and sat themselves down with Sokka walking over to do the same.

"Can I get you some tea, or some of Aunt Wu's famous bean curd puffs?" Meng said sweetly to Aang as he sat down.

"I'll try a curd puff." Sokka said, his voice brightening at the prospect of some food. Meng held out an index finger at him, not bothering to look in his direction as she focussed all of her attention on Aang.

"Just a second." She snapped. Sokka sat down, grumpy at being ignored and as Eira prepared to sit down next to him she realised there was no space, so she was forced to stand. _Yay! Making this day even __**better**__._ Eira thought sarcastically.

"So what's your name?" Meng asked sweetly to Aang.

"Aang." He replied flatly but Meng was delighted.

"That rhymes with Meng! And you've got some pretty big ears, don't you?"

Aang looked self-conscious as he tried to look at his ears.

"I, guess so." He said awkwardly, not exactly sure on how to respond. Sokka on the other hand smiled and waved his hands in dismissal.

"Don't be modest, they're huge!" He said, spreading his arms out in emphasis. Eira laughed happily, feeling a bit guilty as Aang covered his hands over his ears and blushed bright red.

"Sorry, Aang." Eira apologised.

Meng began to walk away and she turned back to look at Aang, smiling brightly.

"Well, Aang, it was very nice to meet you." She began to smile slyly. "_Very_ nice." She turned and left.

"Likewise." Aang said cheerfully. Sokka crossed his arms crossly.

"I still can't believe we're here in the house of nonsense." He complained.

"I agree, nothing she predicts will really have any effect on anything." Eira agreed.

Katara turned to them, disappointed.

"Try and keep an open mind. There are things in this world that just can't be explained. Wouldn't it be nice to have some insight into the future." Katara said.

Eira shook her head.

"Even if you hear what could be the future, it's always changing. It's lucid and flowing, everything you do affects it and knowing your future only causes you to try an act in a way to prevent it or cause it, only to completely change it." Eira explained, going into monologue mode.

Meng and some woman who walked out of Wu's reading room started talking and laughing as Meng came in carrying a tray with a bowl of the puffs on it and then something the woman said caused her to blush fiercely. She pushed the woman away awkwardly and walked over to Aang, her eyes fixed hopefully on him but he was staring at nothing in particular and completely unaware of her presence.

Meng continued to walk towards them but she tripped suddenly, her tray flying into the air and she began to fall towards Aang but Eira, who was still standing, ran over to stop her from falling over and catching her tray as well.

Meng glared at her despite the fact that she saved her from the embarrassment of falling over and she snatched the tray away from her and pushed it towards Aang.

"Enjoy your snack." She said, running away in a hurry.

Sokka took the tray of curd puffs away from and began to take one from the bowl when an elderly woman entered the room. Aunt Wu wore a yellow robe and her grey hair was streaked with white. She wore a small crescent and circle on her forehead and a green pendant and pair of earrings.

"Welcome, young travellers. Now, who's next? Don't be shy." She said in a mystical voice. Everyone stared at each other and eventually up at Eira.

She groaned awkwardly.

"Fine. I guess I'm already standing." Eira said, shoulders slumped. She walked over with Madam Wu to a pair of doors.

"This is where I do my readings." She explained as they both walked through. The room was dark and atmospheric with a small fire burning in the centre and a small green carpet was placed on the wooden floor.

"I'm going to try palmistry." Wu explained. She took Eira's hand in her own and Eira was honestly feeling quite awkward but she had to at least ask something.

"Umm, is there anything about my family?" Eira asked quietly, the small orange fire flickering and reflecting on her face and warming it despite the chill in her blood. "As in, if I could ever see my parents, or my sister again"

Aunt Wu looked sadly at her and looked intently at Eira's palm. There was an unsettling silence as Wu didn't say anything.

She looked up at Eira's face and Eira found that she couldn't read her expression.

"You have a strong love line. You will feel things strongly and marry a good man and settle down with him. You will live a long life and have a lot of children and grandchildren." And that was all she said, despite not really expecting anything else, Eira was still crestfallen.

"Oh. So nothing about my family." Eira whispered softly.

"The Fire Nation has affected a lot of people. I cannot say whether or not you'll see your family again but I'm sure you'll have a lovely family of your own in the future." Wu said. I must've sounded reassuring to her, but to her it was another nail in her already bolted coffin. She was just saying "You'll never see your family again, or return to your world. Give up on that and settle down here." And that was the opposite of what she wanted.

_This is silly._ She thought. _I didn't expect anything from this, she can't really predict the future, so then why am I so sad. _Masking her hurt of that news, Eira got up.

"Thank you, Aunt Wu." She thanked as she turned back to the door and left back into the waiting room. She took Katara into the reading room next and Eira sat down on the pillow.

Sokka was sitting lazily on his pillow, still eating from the bowl of curd puffs and Aang was starting to become fidgety. His hands tapped on his knees impatiently and his eyes darted around. Eira smiled. It was cute to see how much he liked her and wanted to be in her future. Eira never personally understood all of the fuss about Zutara when Aang and Katara were so cute.

Aang stole another glance at the door.

"Uh, so what do you think they're talking about in there?" He asked nervously.

Sokka shrugged and popped another puff into his mouth.

"You know, the same boring stuff, Love, who she's going to marry, how many children she's going to have." He said, not really focusing on the conversation and Eira wasn't really either. No matter how hard she tried to ignore it, Aunt Wu's prediction saddened her. _Nothing she predicts will really have any effect on anything._ Eira thought sarcastically, recalling her previous words.

Aang got up quickly and nervously, his eyes continuously glancing towards the chamber doors and he pointed vaguely behind him as he faced the two teenagers.

"I'm, uh, going to find a bathroom." He said, excusing himself. Aang walked briskly off in the direction of the reading chamber and Eira looked over at Sokka awkwardly.

"So, what did Aunt Wu predict for you?" Sokka asked, smiling between stuffing his face. Eira smiled back.

"Oh, you know, the usual fortune teller mumbo jumbo. I'm going to live long and have a lot of little children. Can you imagine me with children? I'm so awkward around kids, I think they're all out to get me." Eira said jokingly.

"Well, I think I'm amazing around children." Sokka said. Eira rolled her eyes.

"Oh yeah, the little warriors." She smirked, remembering how overly-serious he was with those little Southern Water Tribe children. He looked indignant.

"Hey, those kids loved me." He protested.

"They sure did, General Sokka. I'm sure you'll lead an army of your little warriors to battle one day." Eira said in a deep macho voice. Sokka laughed again.

"Wanna curd puff?" He asked, presenting the bowl to Eira. Eira politely shook her head and suddenly Aang walked back, looking very happy.

"You look like you had a good bathroom break." Sokka said, commenting on Aang's happiness.

"Yeah, well while I was in there I-" He began but Eira and Sokka both shook their heads violently.

"I don't wanna know!" Sokka said, cutting him off swiftly.

Then Aunt Wu and Katara both came walking out and Katara clearly looked happy. _She looked please with her fortune._ Eira thought with a hint of bitterness.

Aunt Wu looked around at Aang and Sokka and clapped her hands together.

"Now, who wants to be next?" She asked politely. Sokka placed the bowl of curd puffs on the floor next to his and he began to stand up sceptically.

"Okay, okay. Let's get this over with." He said as he began to walk towards Aunt Wu.

She looked up and down at Sokka, apparently displeased.

"Your life with be filled with struggle and anguish, most of it self-inflicted." She said dryly and Sokka held up his hands in protest.

"But, you didn't even read my palms or anything!" He protested further.

"I didn't need to. It's written all over your face." Wu explained. Sokka sat back down grumpily again, his arms crossed and his face incredulous. Aunt Wu pointed at Aang.

"You, come with me." She said and Aang complied, walking off with her quietly, leaving Katara, Sokka and Eira sitting and waiting.

Eira turned to Katara sceptically.

"So, what did she predict for you?" She asked and she immediately regretted it. Katara's eyes lit up and she clasped her hands together as her expression turned dreamy.

"I'm going to marry a powerful bender. Isn't that amazing? He's going to be dreamy and handsome and amazing and-"

"Katara, you can't just blindly follow this, anyway I doubt that she could elaborate that much just from palmistry." Eira said dryly.

Katara pouted and crossed her arms.

"It wasn't _just_ palmistry. She also checked the bones and other techniques." Katara said, not really proving her case in Eira's eyes. "Anyway, I might go back for another reading. I really want to know more."

"But _she_ won't know more." Eira persisted.

"How do you know? Eira, you don't know everything . You don't know that she can't really tell the future. I mean, you came here from another world because of some spirits and you're still being sceptical of this?"

"Yes, I am. I had these fortunetellers in my world as well and they were all just using tricks to make people believe in their predictions. I agree, I don't know everything and I never will but _if_ these predictions are real, they're based on actions you haven't taken and if you know the result, your action will be affected and you won't get the result you want. " _That's the main reason I don't tell you everything I know, who knows what that could screw up._ Eira added in thought, deciding against saying it out loud.

They waited in silence for Aang to be finished with his reading as Katara was still thinking on her prediction and Eira was thinking on the consequences she was having in this world. Was her presence screwing things up? _No, I can't think about that. It won't do any good for me to worry. If I __**do**__ mess things up, I'll do my best to fix it._

Aang then suddenly ran out of the reading room and looked at them happily.

"Come on, let's go!" He said, obviously pleased with his reading. They all got up and Eira smirked at him.

"I'm guessing you liked your fortune?" She said, nudging him slightly.

"Yep. All I need to do is follow my heart." Aang said, giving Eira a toothy, white grin as he looked dreamily back at Katara.

They all walked out of the building and Sokka was looking self-assured as Appa saw them and lumbered over.

"Well, now you got to see for yourselves how fortune telling is just a big, stupid hoax." He said as they walked through the market.

Katara crossed her arms crossly.

"Not you too. You're just unhappy because you're going to make yourself unhappy for the rest of your life." Sokka turned around sharply, his voice rising in anger.

"That woman is crazy! My life will be calm, and happy, and joyful!" He said as he kicked his foot out at a stone on the floor and it was sent flying away, into a hanging metal sign and back to Sokka, sending him to the ground.

He held his head in pain, raising his arm and holding his finger up in protest.

"That doesn't prove anything." He said, clutching his head.

"Well, I liked _my_ prediction." Katara said happily, clapping her hands together. "Some things are going to turn out very well." Aang smiled at her slyly.

"They sure are…" He said.

"Why? What did she tell you?" Katara asked curiously.

"Uh, stuff. You'll find out later." He said quickly. They both walked away into the centre of the village, Aang walking behind Katara, arms crossed behind his head contently.

Eira pulled Sokka up from the floor and they both followed Katara and Aang into the centre courtyard.

The entire village was gathered and they were all looking expectantly at the sky. Katara also looked up at the sky and she wore a confused look on her face.

"What's with the sky?" She asked.

The man who they'd saved from the platypus-bear turned away from looking at the sky to look at them.

"We are waiting for Aunt Wu to come and read the clouds to predict the fate of the village." He informed them.

Aang looked up and smiled as he saw something, he pointed upwards.

"That cloud kind of looks like a fluffy bunny." He said happily. The man turned to him, his smiled slightly faded to look worried.

"You better hope that's not a bunny! The fluffy bunny clouds forecasts doom and destruction."

"Do you even hear yourself?" Sokka asked, thoroughly disgusted by the man.

"It also predicts the sky's going to be cloudy." Eira said dryly, arms crossed. "Clouds are just water vapour in different shapes, it's just silly to try and predict the future based of that." She said.

"But it has worked. The cloud reading will tell us if Mount Makapu will remain dormant for another year or if it will erupt." A woman commented as she pointed to the nearby volcano, hearing their conversation.

The man nodded.

"We used to have a tradition once a year of going up the mountain to check the volcano ourselves." The man added, smiling even wider. "But ever since Aunt Wu moved here twenty years ago, we have a tradition of _not_ checking ourselves."

Eira was dumbstruck. HOW COULD THEY ENTRUST THEIR LIVES TO SOMETHING LIKE THAT?!

"But even so, how could you just be content with that?" Eira asked, really wanting to know what had caused these people to trust her so much. "You could die if that volcano erupted."

Katara turned to Eira and gave her a sharp _shhh!_

"She's coming." Katara hissed as they all looked on as Aunt Wu walked up to a small raised roofed area in the centre, followed closely by a man who seemed to be her guard.

Behind Eira, Meng was talking to Aang, and Aang to Katara but Eira was more focused on Aunt Wu and the crowd. The audience radiated respect and awe at Aunt Wu, as if she was a deity of some sort, and she spread her arms out dramatically and held a small scroll in her hand.

"Bending arrow cloud…" She said thoughtfully as she looked up at the sky. "Good crops this year. Nice big harvest." She announced. Beside her in the crowd an old farmer looked ecstatic as he hugged an elderly woman next to him, maybe his wife.

"Darn good news!" He yelled happily.

Aunt Wu looked up at the clouds again.

"Wavy, moon-shaped cloud… Let's see…" She said, again consulting the scroll in her hand. She smiled and turned to two boys in the crowd. "Going to be a great year for twins." She said.

The two boys hugged each other and bumped fists, yelling happily.

"And a cumulus cloud with a twisted nob coming off the end of it…" She muttered thoughtfully. Aunt Wu siled again and threw up her hands dramatically again. "The village will _not_ be destroyed by the volcano!" Cheers erupted throughout the crowd as they all celebrated the good news but all Eira felt was anger. She was so angry she seemed to feel the wind pick up, as if it was responding to her. Aunt Wu was telling these people that they would be safe, but if Eira, Sokka, Aang and Katara didn't warn them, their village would be burnt to ash by lava and their lives would be lost or destroyed. She hated it.

Eira turned from the _fortune teller_ and walked away, too angry for a proper excuse, grabbing Sokka on the way, she needed to talk to someone with an ounce of reason.

They both marched through the courtyard and both of them looked miserable. Everyone around them looked so happy but they were all just ignorant.

"I just can't believe all of these saps" Someone needs to scream some sense into them." Sokka said as he watched all of the happy people around them.

Aang looked at him sadly.

"They seem happy, Sokka." He said.

"No, they're not. They're all just ignorant, they need some insight." Eira said, getting up to walk over to a tall man wearing bright red shoes.

"Excuse me sir. Can I ask you something?" Eira asked politely. The man smiled brightly at her.

"Sure, fire away."

"You're wearing those shoes because Aunt Wu predicted that you'd meet your true love when you're wearing red shoes, am I right?" The man nodded nervously.

"Yes, she did."

"Do you realise that if you wear those shoes every day, you'll be creating a self-fulfilling prophecy, right?" She continued, keeping direct eye-contact.

"Uhhh…" He was looking unsure now.

"Her prediction was not true. All she did was trick you into wearing silly red shoes. You realise this?" The man was looking down at his shoes and looking embarrassed, but Eira kept eye-contact, determined to break him down.

"You will end up meeting your true love, whether or not you're wearing red shoes or not. You don't need to wear those shoes so go find some proper ones that _don't _look like they're from a circus." Eira said. The man's lower lip was starting to waver and he looked down at his shoes and then back at Eira.

"You really believe that I'll meet my true love?" He asked nervously.

"Yes, and you'll meet your true love whether or not you're wearing red shoes and I also know that wearing those shoes aren't exactly helping you look approachable." She said, crossing her arms and nodding. Then the man started beaming at her. Eira stepped back slightly, she didn't expect that.

The man whooped in excitement and ran off suddenly. Eira blinked slowly.

"Okay, I'm not sure if I convinced him that Aunt Wu is not a fortune teller, but I'm pretty sure I convinced him to stop wearing those shoes." She said, turning back to Sokka and Aang, who were looking equally confused and shocked.

"Uh, that was pretty incredible." Sokka said. Eira smiled happily.

"My technique is to maintain eye-contact and act confident, you'll eventually break them down." She explained. Sokka smiled and nodded.

"I'm going to use that, you _did_ make that man almost cry so it must work." Eira rubbed the back of her neck awkwardly.

"Yeah… Not sure that _exactly_ worked out like it's supposed to…"

o.O.o

Eira and Sokka had just been trying to talk some sense into a man who had been refusing to take a bath or clean himself in anyway when Aang walked up to them. _Apparently he'd had a fortune that he'd die in water or something._

"Hey, Sokka, you know some stuff about ladies, right?" He asked timidly as Sokka watched the grimy man walked away from them with a thoroughly confused look on his face.

Sokka's face immediately changed from being disgusted and a little crazed to looking pleased.

"_Some_ stuff?" Sokka placed his arm around Aang's shoulders and smiled. "You've come to the right place. What can I do you for?" He asked calmly. Aang looked nervously at Sokka and Eira rolled her eyes and sat down on some steps into a building, pulling out some paper. _Might as well not be in this conversation._ She thought. She never had any advice on romance that was useful to add.

"Well, there's this girl." Aang began. Sokka glanced over and saw Meng behind them.

"I think I know who you mean." He said, despite not really getting that Aang was thinking of Katara.

"You do?" Aang asked, his surprise clearly visible. "And you okay with it?"

"Of course, I do, and to tell the truth, I've been picking up a subtle vibe that she likes you back." Behind them, Meng was waving enthusiastically at Aang, desperately trying to get Aang's attention.

Aang looked incredibly happy.

"She does?" Sokka punched him in the shoulder reassuringly.

"She's crazy about you. Now you need to avoid messing it up." Sokka said, turning serious.

"How do I do that?" Aang asked, clearly worried.

"The number one mistake nice guys like you make: being too nice." Sokka said and Eira scoffed. Sokka raised an eyebrow at her. "Yes, Eira?"

Eira turned away from writing and looked at them in disbelief.

"Yeah, that doesn't work. If guys act _aloof_ they come across as jackasses, and no-one likes a jerk." Eira explained, smiling at Aang. "Aang, I know who you're_ actually_ talking about and she's the type of person who appreciates a nice, romantic gesture, like a flower." Then she looked directly at Sokka.

"You're approach would come off as rude, insulting or uninterested." Eira personally never understood the _bad boy_ approach. True, they were a bit more confident but they also acted like jerks.

Meng then started to walk up to them and Aang just brushed her off as he began to walk away.

"See you later…"

Sokka smiled triumphantly at Eira.

"Seems he went for my approach." He said but Eira smirked in retaliation.

"Sure. Whatever you want to believe."

o.O.o

"Hey, Aang, are you sure the panda lily is up here?" Eira asked as she leaped up onto a high boulder using airbending, following Aang quickly.

"Yes, I'm sure. I spoke to a man who was gave one to his girlfriend, they're up here and they work."

Sokka was grumbling behind them and Eira had just realised they'd left him behind.

"Uh, sorry Sokka." Eira jumped down and helped him up the large bolder he was attempting to scramble up.

"But, flowers are okay if you're married or something, but at this early stage, it's critical that you maintain maximum aloofness if you're sticking to my advice." Sokka called out to Aang. Eira tapped him on the forehead with her knuckles.

"He's not sticking to your advice, deal with it." Eira said as she jumped them both up to Aang.

"I'm sticking with my heart and my heart says a flower is the way." Aang said cheerfully. He leaped up higher and looked around, then pointed at the rim of the volcano.

"There it is." He called out.

Aang ran out for the flowers but as Sokka and Eira ran up behind them, all of their expressions turned to horror.

Below them, the volcano was glowing red hot. Molten rock boiled and bubbled below them and the heat swirled around them as the glow reflected off their horror-filled faces.

"I thought so… Aunt Wu was wrong, and those people think that they're safe…" Eira whispered as she stared at the lava.

Aang and Sokka shared her expression.

"We need to warn them!" Sokka yelled and that shocked them all into movement again. Aang got out his staff and flicked it open.

"Get on, we don't have time to walk." He commanded. Eira and Sokka quickly held on and they all jumped off the volcano, flying quickly away to the village, Eira helping to keep them all aloft.

They all landed hard as the glider began to fall towards the village and the landed right in front of Katara who was standing crossly in front of Aunt Wu's door.

"Can you believe she won't let me in?" She said in disbelief as she stared at the door. "Even after all the business I've given her?"

"She doesn't charge and you've just been pestering her, anyway we have something to tell you and it's important." Eira said sharply.

"Aunt Wu was wrong about the volcano." Sokka finished.

Katara looked irked and she pointed a finger at Sokka and Eira accusingly.

"You keep on trying to convince me that she's wrong but it's not going to change my-" She began but then, suddenly, the ground began to shake and the volcano began to rumble. Katara's eyes widened and they all lurched forwards.

Eira stared up at the volcano and saw the smoke and ash start to spew from it.

"Oh no…" Katara gasped, her eyes widening even more.

Eira started to run towards the courtyard, closely followed by Sokka, Aang and Katara, and thankfully the courtyard was still packed with people.

Sokka ran up to them and he called their attention.

"Everyone! Aunt Wu was wrong! That volcano is about to erupt!" Sokka yelled.

"Yeah, yeah. We know you don't believe in it, Mr. Science man." A village woman called from the crowd.

"If you won't listen to him, maybe you'll listen to me. I want to believe Aunt Wu and her predictions as much as you do, but my brother, Eira and Aang saw the lava with their own eyes."

"And we heard the prediction with our own ears." The man from before said, as calm as ever.

Aang jumped onto the top of the roofed pavilion to focus the attention on him.

"Please listen to us! You are all in danger! And we have to get out of here! You can't rely on Aunt Wu's predictions anymore. You have to take fate into your own hands." Aang shouted to all the villagers, who were seemingly listening to them.

The volcano thought it time to rumble again and everyone turned to stare at it, the villagers were starting to look a little worried now.

"If you really want to know you're futures, there are two possible ones." Eira said, really annoyed at everyone's ignorance.

"You either die in ignorance and your village is burnt down to ash because of that volcano or you prepare and evacuate and keep your lives."

The villagers looked concerned but none of them said anything. Aang, Eira, Sokka and Katara left the courtyard and grouped together.

"They just won't listen to reason." Katara muttered, dismayed.

"But they will listen to whatever Aunt Wu says, right?" Aang said thoughtfully.

"But that's the problem!" Sokka exclaimed.

"No, Aang's right. If they listen to Aunt Wu then if we get her to predict volcanic destruction then the villagers will listen to us." Eira suggested.

"Right, but how do we do that?" Katara asked. Eira thought for a couple of seconds.

"If you and Aang fly on Appa and bend the clouds to look like the shape of destruction, and then we get Aunt Wu to do another reading it should work." Eira said, explaining the plan. "But we'll need to get Aunt Wu's cloud reading scroll."

"I'll get it." Aang said and he ran off.

"Great." Eira whispered as she watched him leave, smiling.

o.O.o

"Aunt Wu! Something's happening with the clouds, you need to do another reading!" Eira shouted as she burst into the building with Sokka, grabbing her sleeve and pulling her out to the courtyard.

"That's very strange. It shouldn't…" Aunt Wu began as she tried to catch up with Eira.

Eira pointed at the sky where Aang and Katara were bending the clouds. The clouds were shifting and as Aunt Wu looked up she gasped in horror, suddenly terrified.

"Oh my!" Everyone around them was screaming in terror but Eira whistled loudly for their attention.

"Everyone, listen to me!" She shouted in a commanding voice. "You all need to prepare. I'm sorry to tell you, but no-one is capable of telling the future, but that volcano is about to erupt." And then the universe decided to be funny and let the volcano rumble and send ash flowing into the sky as soon as she said those words.

"Okay, not really helping. But all earthbenders help dig trenches to contain the lava and all non-earthbenders grab a spade. We need this time!" The urgency of her words swept over the crowd and they all shuffled over to Sokka, who was passing out spades and all of the earthbenders started work right away.

Aang and Katara landed and they looked impressed.

"You work quickly." Katara commented but she still looked worried.

People were crying out in fear as the volcano began to rumble more and more and the trenches were quickly getting deeper and wider.

The earthbenders cut large parts of the earth out and the diggers would build on that and everyone was stealing glances at the volcano.

Eira was dirty as she dug her spade into the earth and she jumped as a massive boom sounded out and the top of the volcano shot out some lava. Eira wiped some sweat of her forehead and resumed work, terrified. She _really_ didn't want to get caught up in lava, she'd almost done that once and she didn't want to get that close again.

Aang leapt up onto the rim of the trench.

"Everyone needs to evacuate! We'll come for you when it's safe!" He ordered and people quickly scrambled out of the trenches and out of the village.

Lava was pouring out of the volcano now and Eira was getting really scared now. It burnt down the town gates and several trees and it started to fill up the trenches.

Eira, Katara, Sokka and Aang all backed away from the trenches in fear.

"It's too much! It's going to overflow!" Katara cried in terror.

Then, adding to the danger, rocks started to rain down with the ash and lava and they all ran over for shelter but Eira stopped as she saw Aang staying completely still, and he looked furious.

He charged forwards at the lava and thrust his hands towards it. Just as the lava began to overflow, Aang blew a gust of airbending at it and sent it flying upwards as it hardened, refusing to allow it to advance. He drew a large breath and sent it at the lava, cooling it quickly and it turned into sharp stone spikes and all of the lava's heat faded.

Sokka, Eira and Katara were just left in awe as Aang simply took a deep breath and sat down in a meditation position.

There was a moment of silence as they all just stared at Aang.

"Man, sometimes I forget what a powerful bender that kid is." Sokka said, his voice barely a whisper. Katara's eyes widened in realisation and she turned quickly to her brother.

"Wait, what did you just say?" She asked.

"Nothing, just that Aang is one powerful bender." Sokka said casually. Katara turned back to look at Aang, her face shocked as if she'd had an epiphany.

"I suppose he is…"

Eira was just in awe, he was only twelve yet he faced down molten lava with such determination. He was incredible.

o.O.o

It was nice to relax after that stressful little experience. Aang was giving Aunt Wu her book back as Eira was sitting calmly on the steps.

"No offence, but I hope this taught everyone a lesson about not relying too much on fortune telling." Sokka said, addressing the villagers.

"But Aunt Wu predicted the village wouldn't be destroyed and it wasn't. She was right, after all." The calm man from before said and Eira snapped.

She threw up her arms at the man and he was sent flying through the crowd. Sokka stared at her in disbelief.

"What?" Eira asked innocently. "He was _really_ annoying me. Sometimes sense needs to be beaten into someone."

"And you're a peaceful airbender?" He asked, raising an eyebrow. Eira shrugged.

"Not a proper airbender yet."

"Fine."

They all jumped up on Appa, Katara taking the reins this time.

"Goodbye everyone! It was so nice to meet you!" Katara said brightly to the crowd and Eira just could bring herself to agree. This had been so stressful, Eira could've sworn that if they'd stayed longer, that man wouldn't have been the only person thrown.

"Take care, Meng." Katara flicked the reigns and Appa slammed his tail into the ground, soaring into the sky and Eira had never been so happy to leave a place in her life.

* * *

**Again, I hope you liked this, it took over 8 hours spread over 4 days so I hope it was worth the wait.**

**Please review and tell me what you thought and thanks for staying with this for 3 months so far. **


	23. Chapter 23- The Trusted

**Hi, sorry for being gone so long, my internet's been going off and on like the lights in The City Of Ember (good book, you should try read it). Anyway, I finished this a couple of days ago but I've been waiting for my internet to come back so I can publish it.**

**Hope you all like it and please review!**

* * *

Chapter 2: Trusted

* * *

As their rest stop for the day, Aang and Katara chose the beach and despite the fact that it left them wide open for an attack, it did also mean that as waterbenders, they'd have a large source of water to defend themselves with so Eira made no objections.

"We'll catch up with you." Eira yelled to Sokka and Aang as they both ran off down a small dirt track and grassy hill.

She and Katara both began to unpack several things such as food and sleeping bags from Appa's saddle but since they weren't staying for long they both decided to leave the rest.

"Eira, I was wondering something." Katara said as she passed a bag down to the young airbender.

"Yeah, what is it?" Eira asked curiously.

"What did Aunt Wu predict for you?" Eira groaned.

"Katara, I thought we proved that she _wasn't_ a real fortune teller, remember?" Katara smiled.

"Yeah, I know but just for curiosity's sake." She looked at Eira with big pleading eyes and Eira rolled her own.

"Fine." She muttered in submission. "She predicted that I'll settle down and have a nice family." _Sadly, I think she meant in __**this**__world, not my own._ Eira added in thought.

They both walked down the grassy hill and stopped in their tracks as they saw Aang and Sokka rummaging around in the bushes around them.

"Uh, watcha' doing?" Eira asked as she stared at the two boys in confusions.

"Looking for something." Sokka replied as he poked his head in a nearby bush.

"What did you lose?" Katara asked as she sighed. This wasn't the first case of Sokka or Aang losing something.

"Nothing, but we did find something." Aang explained as he presented a small whale tooth scimitar to the two girls.

Katara picked it up gingerly from Aang's hand and she gasped.

"This is a Water Tribe weapon." She exclaimed.

Sokka pushed past a pile of leaves and knelt down, just as Eira saw something on a tree. A large slash mark.

"Sokka, I think there was some sort of battle here." Eira commented as she brushed her hand across the gash in the tree.

She turned around to see Sokka examining an arrow. The shaft was wooden and the tip was flint but it was all burned and ashy.

"It's burned." He walked over to the gash that Eira had spotted and then down at the various footprints on the ground. "There was a fight. Water Tribe warriors ambushed a group of firebenders." He announced as he followed the tracks to a large scorch mark on the ground. "The firebenders fought back and then the warriors drove them down this hill."

Sokka ran down the path, careful not to ruin any of the tracks and Eira, Katara and Aang followed him quickly.

As Sokka looked at the beach carefully, Eira darted her eyes to a large wooden ship at the edge of the beach, the cold waves beating against it softly as the tide went in and out.

"Guys, is that a Water Tribe ship?" Eira asked, pretty sure that it was but wanting confirmation anyway.

Sokka and Katara's faces lit up as they saw the ship.

"It's one of our boats!" Sokka exclaimed as he and Katara ran over to examine it.

"Is it dad's boat?" Katara asked excitedly.

Sokka reached up to rub the hull (maybe?) of the ship and smiled softly.

"No, but it's from his fleet." He faced them all, his face happier than Eira had ever seen before. "Dad was here."

"That's incredible, Sokka. Maybe someone from that fleet is still here, as the ship is still here as well." Eira suggested. "Maybe we should make camp her and see if anyone comes." The smiles of Katara and Sokka widened further. It was clear that they wanted to see their dad and it was heart-warming.

o.O.o

That night, Aang and Katara went to sleep almost straight away, Katara sleeping in her sleeping bag and Aang snuggling up against Appa's fur. Eira was resting in her sleeping bag, but she couldn't go to sleep.

Pretending to sleep, she stole some glances at Sokka who was staring at the fire, a serious look on his face like he was remembering something sad. Eira rolled over, trying to get comfortable. She could still remember the last thing she said to her parents and Jenna. She wished that she had told them that she loved them, not "Leave me alone, I'm trying to concentrate."

"Sokka?" Eira sat straight up and she quickly saw a man step into the firelight. He was tanned and had dark hair as well as blue eyes, meaning he was probably from the Water Tribe. White bandages covered the upper left of his torso and he wore a blue tunic over them.

"Bato?" Sokka asked quizzically, raising an eyebrow, then his face brightened.

"Sokka, who is this?" Eira asked, staring at the man.

""It's Bato!" He yelled cheerfully. Katara and Aang also sat up and began to walk towards them.

"Bato!" Katara said happily as she and Sokka ran over to hug the man. Eira and Aang hung behind, slightly awkwardly.

"Sokka! Katara! It is so good to see you two." Bato said happily as he hugged the Water Tribe siblings. "You've grown so much." He looked over their shoulders at Aang and Eira.

Aang bowed in greeting.

"Hi, I'm Aang." Eira waved politely.

"And my name is Eira, it nice to meet you."

Sokka looked up at Bato, beaming.

"Where's Dad?" He asked.

"Is he here?" Katara asked, following up.

"No, he and the other warriors should be in the Eastern Earth Kingdom by now." Bato explained sadly. Sokka and Katara looked crestfallen and as a cold wind brushed over them, they both shivered as did Bato.

"This is no place for a reunion. Let's get inside." He said as he placed his arms on Sokka and Katara's shoulders and turned to a small dirt path, like the one they followed to get there, leading them away.

Eira and Aang glanced at each other nervously and after a moment Bato looked at them and gestured at them to follow him.

They all walked up a winding steep hill under the dark night sky and Eira rubbed her arms, trying to get warmth back into them. It was _freezing_! If only the moon gave out heat like the sun.

Bato walked them through a large archway, Appa following them, and in the courtyard, groups of nuns milled about and Eira was immediately bombarded by different scents, like perfumes. It wasn't unpleasant but it seemed a bit overwhelming. Bato walked straight up to what looked like the head nun, as she wore a fancier version of the uniform they all seemed to wear.

"When I was wounded by a Fire Nation soldier, your father brought me up here and the sisters have taken care of me ever since." Bato explained. "Superior, these are Hadoka's children and their friend. They've been traveling with the Avatar. I found them by my boat." The head nun turned to them and bowed to Aang respectfully.

"Young Avatar, it's a great joy to be in your presence. Welcome to our humble abbey."

Aang bowed back.

"Thank you, it's truly an honour to be here. If there's anything-" Aang began before being abruptly cut off by Sokka.

"What smells so good, Bato?" Sokka asked, sniffing the air and smelling the perfumes Eira had smelled.

"The sisters craft ointments and perfumes?" Bato explained, gesturing to the several barrels lining the courtyard.

"That's interesting, is that what they used to-" Eira began, interested at the process and the uses but then Eira was cut off by Sokka. He was doing that a lot.

"Maybe we could dump some on Appa." Sokka suggested, pointing his thumb back at Appa, smiling. "Because, you know, he stinks so much." He explained waving his hand in front of his face. "Am I right?" He smiled expectantly. Everyone was silent.

"You have you father's wit." Bato commented dryly. "Now, come on, let's go inside." He said, gesturing to a small room.

They all walked in and Eira was quickly warmed, and disgusted. The room was covered in animal pelts and a small fire sat in the centre of the room and a small pot sat on top of it with a small stew in it and several small black _things_ floating in it. Compared to outside, the smell was awful.

Katara, Sokka and Bato walked in and Katara and Sokka looked around happily.

"Bato, it looks like home!" Katara exclaimed cheerfully. They all filed in and Eira made sure to stand in a part that _wasn't_ coated in dead animal fur. Eira felt a pang of sadness as she looked at the animals. _I know they don't exactly have access to faux fur, but did they have to kill this many animals?_ Eira thought as she stared at a wolf skin and head sprawled across the floor.

"Everything's here, even the pelts!" Sokka said happily as he stared around at the animal skins, like Eira but instead with joy.

Aang was sharing her look of sadness and disgust.

"Yeah, nothing's cosier than dead animal skins." He commented sarcastically. Momo leapt from Aang's arms and started to tap on the head of a platypus-bear curiously, the bear's bill closed and Momo jumped back, alarmed.

Katara, Aang and Sokka sat next to the fire and Katara peered inside the pot.

"No way! Stewed sea prunes!" She exclaimed with delighted surprise. Bato smiled and chuckled, passing some bowls around to them.

"Help yourself." He said gesturing to the pot and ladle.

Katara poured out four bowls of the sea prunes and passed them to Sokka and Aang, Eira refusing her bowl.

"No thanks, I'm not very hungry."

Sokka looked down at his bowl and he smiled in a soft delight.

"Dad could eat a whole barrel of these things." He muttered happily. The two siblings clearly loved their father and it was a nice thing to see.

Eira leant against a wall and shared a look at Aang. They weren't eating the sea prunes.

"Bato, is it true that you and dad lassoed an artic-hippo?" Katara asked curiously.

Bato laughed.

"It was your father's idea, he just dragged me along. Well, the hippo did the dragging." Eira chuckled along with them. She knew that feeling. Back home she'd manage to get in all sorts of crazy situations thanks to her friends… Kath, Lizzy, Megan… She hadn't seen them in ages and Eira couldn't help but feel guilty. She'd been thinking about home for ages and she's barely focused on them, yet she missed them almost as much as her family.

Eira remembered one situation where they'd all been caught _taste-testing_ some pizzas that the year 7's made.

Sokka and Katara were eating the sea prunes happily as Aang sat up.

"Hey, I ride animals, too! There was this one time when I rode a giant eel and I-" Aang began, finding an opportunity to get involved but Sokka cut him off again.

"So, who was it that came up with the Great Blubber Fiasco?" Sokka asked, yet _another_ inside story that Eira and Aang weren't involved in.

Bato laughed, embarrassed.

"You know about that?"

"Everyone does!" Katara said. Aang peered in between the two siblings curiously.

"What's that story?" He asked but Sokka just waved Aang off, not looking at him.

"It's a long one Aang, some other time." He explained and Eira frowned sadly. Back home she wasn't the biggest talker and was used to fading into the background but Aang didn't deserve to get ignored like this, even if they were excited to see a friend of their dad's.

Eira's eyes glazed over as she started to wonder off into her thoughts. She wasn't really going to miss anything.

"Hey, Aang! Please put that down," Bato said, jolting Eira out of her daze. She looked around and saw Aang taking off a wolf's head hat or something with a somewhat guilty and bored expression on his face. "It's ceremonial and _very _fragile." Aang placed the head back on the wall, disappointed, and he walked back over to his spot and sat back down.

He looked so bored and unhappy Eira walked over and sat down next to him.

"Hey." She whispered, leaning over to him. "Don't worry about this. They're just excited to see their father's friend." Aang smiled, but it looked forced. And that was quite scary for someone who usually smiled 24/7.

"Yeah, sure…" He whispered back.

"Any day now. Your father said he'd send a message when they found the rendezvous point. If you wait until the message arrives, you can come with me, and see your father again." She heard Bato say.

"It's been over two years since we've seen Dad. That would be so incredible! Katara!" Eira saw Aang shoot a worried, sad look at Sokka and Katara, his face paling.

"I do really miss him. It would be great to see Dad." Katara said wistfully and that wasn't what Aang wanted to hear. He stood up and left, completely unnoticed by the others. Eira looked up at him sadly as he walked out the door.

"It would be great, but we can't. We have to take Aang to the North Pole first." Sokka said from behind her. Eira turned around to see Katara and Sokka looking down sadly at each other.

"And even if we do wait for the message, who knows how far we'd have to travel to get the rendezvous point. We don't have the kind of time for that." Katara explained, looking up at Bato, expecting a disappointed face but Bato was smiling proudly.

"I'm sure your father would be proud to know that his children are helping the Avatar, I know that I am. He'll understand." Bato said softly. Sokka and Katara smiled at him and this time Eira stood up. She needed to see Aang.

She walked out and down the path, noting the contrast in temperature from the warm room and the freezing night grudgingly. Trudging down to the beach she suddenly stopped, dropping into the foliage as she heard a voice.

"I can't believe they would leave me." It was Aang… And his voice was so incredibly heartbroken. Eira was just about to walk over to him to comfort him but another voice and steps sent her back hiding behind the bush.

"I'm looking for Bato of the Water Tribe." It was a male voice and he looked like an Earth Kingdom messenger. He was riding on an armoured ostrich-horse and Eira again took a moment to look at the animal. She just couldn't get over how amazing all these animals looked, and they were real.

Aang looked down from the point of the Water Tribe boat.

"Uhhhh, I know Bato." He said nervously.

The messenger passed the scroll over to Aang and Aang reached down to pick it up.

"Make sure he gets this." The messenger insisted as he began to trot back from the ship.

Aang opened the scroll and as he looked at it, his eyes widened.

"It's the map to Sokka and Katara's dad!" He exclaimed, and then a look of confusion flashed across his face, then sadness.

He turned away from the scroll and closed his eyes, crumpling the scroll in his hand.

"Aang? What are you doing?" Eira asked softly as she walked out. Aang turned to Eira, his face a picture of guilt.

"E-Eira! How long were you-" He exclaimed, almost falling off the boat.

"Long enough…" Eira said, cutting him off and then looking at her feet. "Aang, Katara and Sokka would never leave you. You're their friend, you're _my _friend. Why would you think they'd leave you?"

Aang's eyes began to water with guilt.

"I-I don't… I don't know. They were talking with Bato and… I just don't want them to go." He said, barely a whisper.

"Neither do I, but I know for sure that no matter what I'll be with you. We're going to stick together."

Aang got down from the boat and Eira embraced Aang in a hug.

"I'm always going to be there for you." Eira said as Aang blinked tears out of his eyes. "And so are they. I know that, you're just going to have to trust me. We're all family now."

"Thank you, Eira."

Eira stepped back and rubbed his shoulder reassuringly. Aang reached for the scroll and handed it to Eira.

"Don't worry. It'll all be fine, as long as you don't finish those sea prunes."

o.O.o

"Hey everyone, sorry we were gone for so long." Eira said as she and Aang entered the room. Katara, Sokka and Bato all turned to look at them, looking away from their bowls.

"Hey guys, I didn't notice you left." Katara said. _Thanks, Katara. That's great for Aang's confidence._

"It's alright. I just needed some fresh air, that's all." Aang said, taking a deep breath.

"We also ran into a messenger." Eira said, pulling out the scroll. "It's the map to Hadoka and the others."

Katara and Sokka jumped up, Sokka snatching the map from Eira. He grinned widely as he saw it.

"Dad! He's near the east coast of the Earth Kingdom!" Sokka exclaimed. Bato got up and also looked at the map.

Eira looked carefully at Aang's face as the three examined the map. His face was pale and he looked shaky.

Eira rubbed his shoulder and smiled at him. He looked up at her and a little colour returned to his face as he gave her a small smile.

"I'll leave a note in this location so after you go to the North Pole you know where to find us." Bato said pointing to the map.

"This is amazing. We'll be able to see dad again after all this time." Katara said happily. She looked over the map at Aang and gestured for him to come over to them.

"Aang, Eira, you need to see this." She said. The two airbenders walked over to the map.

It was very detailed and there were some specific points on it near the east of the Earth Kingdom.

"Soooo…" Eira began, staring at the map. "The plan is to meet up with your father and Bato after Aang goes to the North Pole? That's great, we should be looking for an earthbending teacher at that point."

Bato smiled.

"Well, I'm glad it all works out." He said cheerfully and the smile on Aang's face was so bright and happy, Eira couldn't help but feel the same.

o.O.o

After a good night's sleep, Bato took them back to the boat. Now it was light and they weren't caught up in the excitement of meeting someone from the Southern Water Tribe, Eira could appreciate the craftsmanship. It was made of smooth wood but had a couple of bumps and scratches on it, as if it had been through a lot, and the sail and decorations were all blue, purple and white. It radiated pride and creativity as well as strength. Eira knew nothing about boats but she could tell that this was a good one.

Bato looked at it and rubbed the wood proudly.

"This ship is sentimental for me. It was built by my father." He explained and Eira was astonished, it looked great for two generations old.

Sokka and Katara looked at the boat fondly.

"Is this the boat he took you ice dodging in?" Sokka asked. Bato chuckled.

"Yep! It's got the scar to prove it. Ha!" He laughed again and turned to Sokka. "How 'bout you, Sokka? Want to regale me with tales of your first time ice dodging?" He asked. Sokka stared at the ground, saddened and silent.

"He never got to go. Dad left before he was old enough." Katara explained.

"I'm sorry, but what's ice dodging?" Eira asked, her curiosity peaking.

"It's a rite of passage for young Water Tribe members. When you turn fourteen, your dad takes you-" Bato paused, as if a new idea was forming in his head. "You know what, you're about to find out." He said as he placed a hand on Sokka's shoulder.

Eira vaguely remembered something about ice dodging and she could guess a bit from context but she was still curious to see what it entailed, and nervous. It sounded quite Titantic-_esque_ .

"Everyone on the boat!" Bato shouted and they jumped onto the boat excitedly, Aang beaming. He was seemed so relieved that Sokka and Katara weren't leaving him his good mood was rubbing off on everyone.

As everyone climbed into the boat, Bato began to steer the ship outwards into the sea but still sticking to the coast. He tugged at strings and swivelled the rudder and the boat seemed to respond to it. Eira had no idea how, boating was a foreign concept to her and she was pretty sure that was going to the ice dodging pretty awkward for her.

"Ice dodging is a ceremonial test of wisdom, bravery and trust." Bato explained as he began to sail the boat a bit closer to shore. "In our village, ice dodging was done by weaving a boat through though a field of icebergs." He said, turning back to Eira and Aang, who were both looking quite confused.

"How are we supposed to ice dodge, without ice?" Sokka asked as he leant over the side of the boat, looking around.

Bato pointed in front of them at some lethal-looking rock spires.

"You'll be dodging those." All of their faces turned nervous. "Sokka, you steer and call the shots, lead wisely. Katara and Eira, you secure the main sail." Katara nodded and grabbed a rope, so Eira, anxiously, did the same for a rope on the other side.

"The winds can be brutal, so be brave." _Oh, great… Yeah, we're all going to smash into those spires._ Eira thought pessimistically. "Aang, you control the jib. Without your steady hand, we all go down. Your position is about trust." Aang's eyes darted to the side, as if remembering the other night, but he then stared back at Bato, determinedly.

"Right! I'm on it." he said cheerfully.

Bato looked at them all proudly.

"For this to be done right, I cannot help." Bato said as he sat cross-legged at the front of the boat. "You'll pass or fail on your own." _Do you really want that, Bato? With me doing this, we'll likely fail._ Eira though nervously as she gripped the rope.

The boat slowly sailed towards the rocks and as the main sail began to sway or wobble Eira tugged slightly at the rope to correct it.

"Aang, ease up on the jib. Katara, steady." Eira looked at the shore with concern and pulled the rope slightly.

"Eira, less sail. Katara give Aang room." Sokka commanded and they all tried their best to follow his orders. The ship lurched to the side and they sailed in between two large rocks.

"Aang, helm to lee. Helm to lee!" Sokka shouted and Aang looked around in confusion.

"What does that even mean?!" Aang asked, clearly having no idea.

The waves rocked the boat and Bato, who had stayed calm and cross-legged the whole time, was knocked to the side and gripped the side of the boat. Eira gripped the rope and clenched her eyes shut. After this and the fishing boat, Eira either had to learn more about boats or just never go on one again. So far the latter was more preferable.

Opening her eyes slightly, Eira saw them pass through even more boats and Sokka sigh in relief.

"Great job!" He said. Katara, Aang and Eira smiled, out of both relief and satisfaction.

Eira looked around and it seemed that they were out of the danger, until she saw the wall of rocks in front of them.

"Sokka! You need to turn!" Eira yelled, staring at the wall.

"We can make it." Sokka said in retaliation, clearly determined to pass with flying colours.

Bato stood up, tightening his grip on the side of the boat. His face was worried, fearing for their lives and his boat.

"Sokka, you've already proven yourself. Maybe we should-" He began but Sokka ignored him, turning to Aang, Katara and Eira instead.

"Aang, Eira, I'm gonna need air in that sail." Aang and Eira nodded in understanding, taking position in front of the sail. "Katara, I want you to bend as much water as you can between us and those rocks. Now!" He ordered and she quickly raised her arms, as if lifting a heavy weight, the water responding to it.

Eira and Aang sent shots of air into the sail, Aang doing most of the work, and Eira was pleasantly surprised to see that she was actually doing it. The boat was sent flying into the air and Sokka groaned nervously as the boat flew over the rocks, clearing them with ease, landing on clear blue water with a large splash.

As the boat slowly floated over the water, Sokka sighed in relief and relaxed visibly. Eira, Aang and Katara all shared looks of joy and Eira took a deep breath. Bending took a lot out of you, even if you weren't very good at it.

Sokka sailed the boat back to the beach and docked it with a sudden lurching and scraping across the sand.

Eira quickly grabbed the side of the boat.

"I guess parki- I mean- docking needs a bit more work." She commented, but Sokka just shrugged and smiled as he jumped off the boat onto the sand.

They all walked down in front of the boat in the beach and Bato pulled out a small pot of purple ink, or face paint.

He stood in front of Sokka and dipped his finger into the pot.

"The spirits of water bear witness to these marks." Bato said grandly to the sky as he smiled at Sokka. "For Sokka, the Mark of the Wise." He said as he drew a small arc and dot onto Sokka's forehead. "The same mark your father earned." Sokka smiled warmly and proudly as Bato turned to Katara.

"For Katara, the Mark of the Brave." He said, drawing a crescent moon on her forehead. It was so fitting for her.

"For Aang, the Mark of the Trusted." Bato drew a simple arc on Aang's forehead before finally turning to Eira.

"And for Eira, the Mark of the Strong. You two are now honorary members of the Water Tribe." Bato drew a mark on Eira's forehead, Eira couldn't see it but she felt proud for being called an honorary member of her friend's home.

"Thank you, Bato." She thanked, before smiling widely at Aang, Sokka and Katara. The wise, the brave and the trusted. Words that described her new friends perfectly. Sokka, wise, clever and funny. Katara, brave, motherly and amazing and Aang, trusted, cheerful and powerful. They were all amazing people and she was in the middle of all of them, as their friend.

It was a great feeling, but at the same time she felt sad. If she survived after Sozin's comet, she'd go back home.

"Now, Sokka, Katara. I'm going to leave now." Bato said. Katara and Sokka looked at him sadly.

"What? But, but we still have so much to talk about." Sokka protested.

"I'm sorry, but if I don't leave soon, I won't be able to meet back up with the other warriors in time. When we meet next, I'm sure we'll all have more stories to tell." Bato said, smiling. Katara and Sokka both looked sad, but they also looked understanding, tackling Bato in a hug.

After a couple of seconds, they broke apart and they all began to walk back to the abbey. The same lovely smell floated in the courtyard, though still a bit overpowering, and as they waited for Bato to collect his things and pack up. Katara placed a hand on Aang's shoulder.

"Hey. I'm sorry." She said. Aang looked up at her quizzically.

"For what?" He asked. Katara looked guiltily at him.

"For kind of ignoring you for a while. I realised that we were a bit _too_ caught up talking with Bato, and we completely excluded you. That must have been rough." She explained. Aang smiled at her.

"It's alright. You were happy to see a friend, and happy to hear about your dad. Anyway, I have Eira. She's great company." He said, smiling up at Eira and Eira smiled back.

"Thanks Aang. You're great company too." Eira said cheerfully. This Aang was such a contrast to the Aang she saw last night, it was almost like they were two sides of a coin.

Bato came out of the tent with Sokka, talking casually with each other as Sokka passed him a last bag.

"Take care, Sokka." Bato said, hugging him and patting his back. Katara ran up to Bato and hugged him again.

"Say hello to dad for us." She said softly. Bato brushed her hair affectionately.

"I will. It was great seeing you two, and I bet Hadoka will be especially happy about when I tell him about what you're doing." Bato said as he stepped out of the hug.

Bato walked out of the abbey and down another dirt path, surrounded by tall leafy trees and they all just watching him in silence as he walked out of their sights.

There was even more silence as they all stared into the space that Bato had been as he turned a corner.

"I guess we should be moving on." Aang suggested and that shook them all out of their daze.

Mother Superior stood in front of Appa.

"That would be for the best, as the Avatar, you have other duties that need to be attended to."

Behind them Appa growled and Momo squawked as they all walked towards them.

"Hey, but Aang. Before that, can I just go and look for something at the beach?" Eira asked, pointing her thumb back at the entrance that lead down to the beach.

He nodded.

"Sure, why not?" Aang said cheerfully. "We'll wait for you and get ready."

"Thanks." Eira said as she stepped back a couple of steps and began to run down to the beach.

She looked around at the beach and scoured the sand for some shells. When she was little, she'd always bring home a shell if she visited a beach. Back home she had a shelf covered in shells, one from every beach she'd visited. Might as well keep to that tradition.

Eira looked across the beach, passing several pretty shells as she searched, aware that Sokka, Aang and Katara were waiting for her at the abbey, but she wanted to find one that was unique compared to the ones she had at home

She saw a small sparkling shell with mottled colours of white, blue, pink and brown and it looked very different to the ones she had at home and as she knelt down to inspect it, she was a small silver pearl inside. Carefully, Eira plucked it out of the shell and held it up to the sun, it's shiny surface reflecting the light as she rolled it in between her fingers.

"Perfect." She whispered to herself as she place the pearl back into the shell and placed it in her belt.

Satisfied, she turned to walk back to the abbey but a sudden roar interrupted her.

A giant, monstrous creature burst out of the nearby forest and Eira was horrified to see Zuko, Iroh and a woman on it. The creature had brown fur, no eyes and a pink, tentacle-y snout like a star-nose badger.

It's barbed tongue lashed out at her but Eira duck and rolled to the side.

"What the hell?" She exclaimed as she looked up at them angrily. _How did they find them?_

The woman lashed out her whip at the animal and it lashed out its tongue again, this time it hit Eira in the shoulder and an aching numbness spread throughout her body in an instant, her muscles turning to jelly and her legs gave out, sending her to the ground.

Her shoulder burned where the animal had struck her and as Eira tried to move and get up, she found that for couldn't move.

"So this is your girlfriend. No wonder she left you, she's too pretty." The woman said mockingly. Zuko growled in annoyance as he looked down at Eira.

"She's not my girlfriend!" Zuko snapped, before turning to Eira. "Where's the Avatar?" He growled angrily.

"Far away, too bad for you." Eira spat, silently thankful that her face didn't seem to be paralysed as well, desperately hoping that she could pull off the bluff. If only she could warn Aang and tell them to leave.

"As if I'd believe that. How stupid do you think I am?" He hissed.

"Do you _really _want me to answer that?"

The animal walked up closer to Eira and it sniffed its snout at her.

"What is it doing?" Zuko asked sharply to the woman. She had long, straight dark hair in a top knot and had a pale complexion, her dark eyes standing out as well as her reddened lips. A black leather whip was hanging at her belt and she wore a dark outfit.

The creature's pink nose sniffed at her arm and at her bracelet and it suddenly jerked its head up.

"It's caught the Avatar's sent." She explained as she hopped onto the creature's saddle.

Zuko picked Eira up and slung her over the saddle like a bag or something. _Rude._ Eira thought indignantly. If only she could move.

Zuko climbed onto the saddle and with a whip, the creature began to sprint off towards the abbey at an incredible speed.

It ran up the hill and slammed the gates of the abbey open forcefully.

Aang, Sokka and Katara looked fearfully at the creature and Eira was thrown off as the creature lashed it's tongue at the trio. Nuns ran around screaming as they all tried to get inside for shelter.

They all dodged its tongue and Appa began to charge at the animal, knocking it into a wall as he head-butted it. Zuko, Iroh and the woman managed to jump off and Zuko immediately took to face Aang.

Two nuns ran up to Eira behind all of the chaos with Sokka and Katara and dragged her across to the side of the abbey.

"What's wrong with her?" Sokka asked, concerned.

"She's been paralysed." A nun explained, looking down at Eira with a worried face.

Behind them, Aang and Zuko were fighting on the roofs, sending alternating fire blasts and jets of air at each other as Appa and the creature that attacked her were fighting as well, the woman whipping the creature and yelling commands.

They were fighting for a while and Eira scanned the situation. She couldn't help the situation in her current state but she could at least think of a way.

As Aang and Zuko skidded on the roof, several tiles fell down and hit Sokka over the head. He rubbed it in pain and looked up.

"We need to find a way to confuse that creature." He muttered as he and Katara looked around for a solution. Eira's vision began to focus on the barrels and an idea sparked in her head.

"Guys." Eira said as she began to feel some feeling back in her body. "I have an idea."

Sokka and Eira's attention snapped back to her and they looked expectantly at her.

"Yes, what is it?" Sokka asked quickly.

"That thing sees by smell. If you use the barrels you can manage to overload its senses." Eira said, staring at Appa who was crashing into the animal with full force.

Sokka snapped his fingers.

"Yes, that's it!" He quickly ran inside the building and after a few minutes, him and a few other nuns came out, the majority following Sokka to the barrels around the courtyard but one walking up to Eira.

She held a small bottle under Eira's nose and as Eira breathed she quickly felt re-energised. She jerked back into movement and began to stand up.

"Come on, there are a couple of barrels over here." Eira whispered as she sprinted around to the other side and grabbed onto the barrels, kicking them over.

The heavily scented liquid poured over the ground as the others did the same. The effect on the animal was immediate. It completely flipped out, rearing up and lashing it's tongue out randomly at the air, striking Zuko and the woman, sending them both to the floor, and then it jumped over the abbey walls and ran off into the forest to avoid the overwhelming perfume.

"No, June!" Iroh yelled as he ran over to the woman. _So her name is June._ Eira thought, it _did_ sound familiar.

Eira, Sokka, Katara and Aang all walked up to the centre of the courtyard and looked at the chaos around them.

"Well, we know how to leave an impression on a place." Eira commented dryly as she looked around.

"Definitely." Sokka said. "Come on, let's go. Better leave before we manage to make it worse." He said as he walked over to Appa and climbed up onto his saddle, everyone else following suit.

After Appa was soaring into the sky, Aang looked over at Eira quizzically.

"Hey, Eira. What did you want to get from the beach?" He asked. Eira blushed.

"It's pretty silly, but whenever I go to a beach, I always bring back a shell of some kind." She explained, pulling out the shell from before.

"It's really pretty." Katara said as she looked closer at it.

"But Aang, do you know what they were tracking us with?" Eira asked. _They didn't use the necklace, so how did they find us?_

Aang seemed to think for a while then something seemed to spark in him.

"Oh yeah." He pulled a yellow fabric out of his belt. "They were using this." He said as he held it out.

"That's my T-shirt!" Eira exclaimed. She took it out of Aang's hand and held it out. It was definitely her T-shirt.

"Zuko asked me to be _sure_ I got it back to you." Aang said jokingly.

"Aw, that's so sweet of him." Eira said in the same joking tone. "But I'm still going to get him back for this."

* * *

**And she defiantly will, and probably soon since we only have about 4 or so chapters left.**

**Anyway, I hope you enjoyed reading this and please review!**


	24. Chapter 24- You're Gonna Get Burned

**Okay, I'm sorry if this isn't what you want to hear but I'm the kind of person who hates to break up cannon couples so I doubt I'll be making Eira get together with anyone like Sokka or Aang because they already have future pairings but I might get her to start a relationship with another OC when I get through season 2 or season 3. (BTW: I'm going to also try and write Eira in the comics if I get that far)**

**Hope you like this chapter, please review and tell me what you think! :D**

* * *

Chapter 24: You're Gonnna Get Burned

* * *

_Yay! More walking!_ Eira thought miserably as they all walked through another forest. Momo was jumping from tree to tree, trying to catch a bug or something and Sokka was examining a pouch of his roadside snacks.

At a crossroad sat a small, broken kiosk of some kind, but it must've been out of commission for a long time as posters were stuck all over it. Momo landed on it, causing some dust to fly up off it and Katara and Aang began to look at the posters.

"This should give us some idea of what's around here." Katara said as she looked at a particularly colourful poster.

Sokka flipped the small pouch over and a few small crumbs fell out and he stared at them, disappointed.

"See if you can find a menu, I'm starving." He said, not really paying attention. Eira rolled her eyes as she looked at the other side of the kiosk. It was filled with posters and mugshots.

"I bet we'll find something to eat here," Aang said, pointing at a poster. "The Fire Day's Festival. Fire Nation cultural exhibits, jugglers, benders, magicians…" He said, reading out the poster as Eira began to read the posters, until two caught her eye.

A poster of a bald boy in Air Nomad clothing and a girl with pale hair and Water Tribe clothing. It was Aang and Eira on wanted posters.

"This would be a great place for me to study some real firebenders." She heard Aang say. Eira lifted her head from the posters and looked seriously at the others.

"No, I don't it will, look at these." Eira said gesturing to the posters. It was very weird having your own wanted poster. The drawings were very good, even if her hair was a bit too yellow, and that wasn't very good for them.

Aang walked over and looked at the posters with a smile.

"Hey, posters of us." He said cheerfully.

"_Wanted_ posters. These are probably all over the Earth Kingdom and Fire Nation. We're going to need to stay low." Sokka said, his expression serious.

"I agree, I think we better keep moving." Katara said in agreement.

Aang looked up at Katara with his big, pleading grey eyes.

"I have to learn firebending at some point and this could be my only chance to watch a master's up close." Aang said, pouting.

Katara's resolve was crushed.

"I guess we could check it out." She said and Aang whooped in rejoice.

"What? You wanna walk into a Fire Nation town where they're all fired-up with their ... you know, fire?" Sokka asked incredulously.

"I agree with Sokka. It's too dangerous." Eira said, crossing her arms. "You won't even find _proper_ firebending there, just the showy, flashy type that can't help you."

"But we can wear disguises, and some firebending is better than no firebending at all." Katara said.

"Speak for yourself. I know I'd feel safer if there wasn't any firebending." Sokka said.

"But if anything looks like trouble, we can just leave." Katara said, beginning to walk towards Appa.

"Yeah! Because we always leave before there's any trouble." Sokka said sarcastically, remaining unconvinced.

"Okay, we can go, but Aang." Eira said seriously to Aang as he smiled at her.

"Yes?"

"If I see even the slightest sign of trouble, we have to get out immediately, no complaining."

Aang looked at his feet and then back at Eira.

"Yeah, okay." He said quietly, disappointed, before turning to Momo and Appa. "You guys stay out of sight here while we go to the festival." He instructed. Momo flew into a small bush in response and Appa began to lumber over to the same bush and crouched behind it, barely hiding even his nose.

Eira looked at them incredulously and turned back to Aang, Katara and Sokka.

"Ready disguises!" Aang ordered as Eira, Sokka and Katara pulled some black cloaks over their heads and Aang pulled his orange shawl over his head, grinning goofily.

"It's like you're a whole different person." Sokka said sarcastically at Aang's goofy disguise.

"Yeah, you're as great at disguise as Sokka is at sneak attacks." Eira commented as they all began to walk away, towards the town.

Sokka nodded in agreement before registering the last part of her sentence.

"Hey!" He exclaimed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

o.O.o

The festival was bustling, swarms of people walked around wearing all sorts of gorgeous, colourful masks and the atmosphere was friendly and energetic.

"I think we may need some new disguises." Katara said as she looked around at the mask-wearing people around them.

"Where are we gonna get masks like that?" Sokka asked but Eira tapped his shoulder and pointed to the stall with nothing but masks on it.

"Maybe over there?" She said as they all began to walk towards the mask vendor.

Eira chose a mask of a butterfly with several coloured jewels on it, Katara chose a made-up woman and Sokka and Aang chose a blue smiling one and a red frowning one respectfully.

Katara looked at the two boys' masks and had the same idea as Eira, the other way around suited better.

Eira and Katara took the boys' masks off and swapped them around, seeing Sokka's frown and Aang's smile under their masks. It was so fitting.

Eira nudged Sokka with her elbow.

"I know you don't want to be here, but, hey, there's some food over there." She said, smiling and gesturing to a man selling various red foods. It all looked incredibly spicy so Eira wouldn't want to touch it but Sokka would probably like it.

"Finally!" He yelled, running over to the shop keeper. "What do you have?" He asked, leaning on the kiosk excitedly.

The shop keeper gestured grandly to the small pouches of red flakes in front of him.

"Flamin' fire flakes! Best in town."

"I'll take 'em!" Sokka said as he swiped a pouch and began shovelling it into his mouth, flipping up his mask, then suddenly spasming from the heat, clawing at his tongue, as if to try and get rid of the heat.

"Aaahhh! HOT! HOT!" He yelled as his eyes watered from the heat.

"Wow, Sokka. I could've never guessed that the flaming fire flakes would be hot." Eira commented sarcastically, earning an unamused look from Sokka.

"Hey, look at this." Aang said, getting their attention and directing it at a small puppet show surrounded by Fire Nation children and their parents, dressed in reds, golds and whites which looked quite weird as Eira was used to them wearing black instead of white. It kind of showed a contrast between the general citizens and the army.

The puppet was a demonised version of the Fire Lord and he was turning to all the children in the crowd. Eira always found it strange that despite the reverence the Fire lord got, he was often demonised, at least in his looks, in the media shown in his country.

"Don't worry loyal citizens! No one can surprise the Fire Lord!" The puppet yelled out as an Earth Kingdom soldier puppet popped up behind the Fire Lord puppet with a rock, ready to attack.

"Oh no! Look out!" The children yelled, several hiding their faces in their hands out of fear.

The Fire Lord puppet turned to the earthbender and simply breathed fire on it, completely destroying it. The children in the crowd cheered at it and Eira found herself completely disgusted. They were brought up in a place where burning someone to death resulted in joyous cheers.

Aang grabbed Eira's wrist and tore her away from the puppet show and dragged her through a large crowd and to a large stage.

"Aang, hold on! Where are we going?" Katara asked as she followed them through the crowd.

Aang turned around and smiled at her as she caught up.

"I don't know, but there's a big crowd so it must be good." Aang said. Sokka scowled.

"Knowing the Fire Nation, it's probably an execution." Sokka said dryly.

They all looked up onto the stage and saw a young man in white and red robes dancing around the stage, gesturing his hands towards the several lit torches and moving the fire from them in a circle around him. It looked energetic and hard to pull off but Eira couldn't help but flinch as the fire came closer to the front of the stage. It also looked hard to control.

The man pulled all of the fire into the centre of the stage above him and it exploded into a group of doves, flying off gracefully.

Aang looked up at the trick happily, his eyes wide with childish wonder.

"I gotta learn that trick!" He whispered in awe.

The man on stage took a bow at all of the cheers.

"Thank you! And for my next trick, I need a volunteer from the audience!" He yelled and Aang jumped up and down, waving his arms around excitedly.

"Oh! Oh! Me! Me!" He yelled, trying to get the man's attention but Sokka sternly pulled his arms down,

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked in a stern tone of voice.

"I want to get a closer look." Aang pouted.

Katara placed a hand on his shoulder gently.

"It's better that we don't attract any attention to ourselves." She said softly.

"How about you, pretty lady?" Eira heard the man say and, to her horror, she found the man pointing at _her_ instead of Katara.

Eira backed away quickly.

"Uh, n-" She began but the man just tutted and turned to the audience.

"Awww, she's shy." He said and Eira was so glad her face was covered by a mask as otherwise it would be completely red. "Leeets' give her some encouragement, folks!" He said and suddenly the crowd started to push her up onto the stage, completely against her will.

Eira turned one last time to Aang, Katara and Sokka for some help but she was still forced up onto the stage.

Eira was standing in the centre of the stage and the young man walked up to her, carrying some silk ribbon and a chair. He placed the chair behind Eira and gestured grandly with his arms.

"This next trick is called "Taming the Dragon"!" He said, pushing Eira down into the chair and hooping the ribbon around her, tying her to it.

He placed a hand under Eira's chin and then gestured again to the crowd. _Well, he's certainly a showman ._Eira thought angrily.

"You will be my captured princess!" He said as he firebent the torches again, this time to form a dragon-like shape. It was sent towards her and Eira flinched in fear but at the last second it swerved upwards and span around in a circle.

"Don't worry, young maiden! I will tame this fiery beast!" He said, creating a small rope of fire and connecting it with the dragon. It span around, as if bound by the fire rope but the man's face turned worried, acting as if he was losing control of it.

"It's too strong, I can't hold it!" He yelled theatrically as the fire began to fly at Eira. Despite the fact she knew it was an act, Eira just couldn't stand it.

She quickly tilted the chair back, freeing her feet, and she kicked her feet at the fire. It sent a giant wave of air at it, stronger than any bending she had done before and the fire dispersed and exploded into confetti.

The man dived to the floor as it all exploded and Eira jumped up, slipping out of the bindings, her hair falling out her scarf and she landed down on the chair smashing it.

She looked at the crowd and felt herself become paralysed with shock. Everyone was looking at her in disbelief.

"Uhhh… Bye!" Eira said quickly, running off the stage.

She looked back and saw Aang, Sokka and Katara following her as the crowd registered what they'd just seen.

"Hey! She's the airbender!"

"That's the Avatar with her!"

"Get them!"

As Sokka, Katara and Aang caught up with her, Eira laughed nervously.

"I think we have run into some trouble." She said as they all ran down through the village.

"Follow me! I can get you outta here!" They heard a shadowy figure yell and seeing as a group of Fire Nation guards were following them, they decided it couldn't get much worse.

They all ran over to the shadowy figure and he sent several explosives at the guards following them.

"I'm calling Appa." Aang said, blowing his bison-shaped whistle as they ran.

"I hope he can really hear that stupid whistle." Sokka said.

"This way!" The man said as they made a sharp turn down an alleyway but he stopped quickly as he saw a group of soldiers at the end. "Okay, not this way!"

He threw a bomb at the soldiers and turned into another alleyway, which in stereotypical fashion, was a dead-end.

"Great! This is perfect!" Eira said sarcastically as she looked up at the wall. The top was littered with fireworks and with so much fire around that couldn't be a safe idea.

Eira looked up to the sky and sighed in relief as she saw Appa flying towards them.

"Appa! Down here!" Aang yelled as Appa landed heavily on the ground between the guards and their group.

Appa slammed his tail down at the soldiers and airbent a gale at them, knocking them back as they all climbed up onto him and he flew away.

The man bit the top off on a bomb and sent it flying down at the fireworks, causing them to blow up in a spectacular fireworks display.

Eira looked down at it, smiling. It almost reminded her of bonfire night, or Guy Fawkes Day. She loved seeing the fireworks with her sister. She saw Appa fly over the village, carrying several lanterns and dropping them on a wooden Fire Nation column, setting it on fire.

"We keep on leaving our mark." Eira said as she looked at the fire. "It's a surprise that everyone doesn't know where we've been." _Maybe that's one way Zuko keeps finding us._

The man looked down on the village and he removed his hood.

"Nice touch setting off the fireworks." Aang complimented.

"You really know your explosives." Sokka said, clearly impressed.

"I'm familiar." The man said as he turned to them. He was tanned and had dark hair with amber coloured eyes.

Sokka leant back in shock.

"You're a Fire Nation soldier!" He exclaimed.

"_Was._" He persisted. "My name's Chey."

o.O.o

After making a camp fire, they sat Chey down to make him explain.

"I serve a man. More than a man really, he's a myth, but he's real." He started.

"Then he's a legend, myths are made up." Eira interrupted.

"Uh, okay but his name is, uh, Jeong Jeong the Deserter. He was a Fire Nation general , or wait… Was he an admiral?" He said unsurely.

Sokka was not amused.

"He was very highly ranked, we get it."

"Yeah! Way up there!" Chey said and the way he was talking was getting on Eira's nerves. "But he couldn't take the madness anymore. He's the first person ever to leave the army-and live."

"But what about retirement? Wouldn't they allow really old people to leave, I mean, what would allowing an incredibly elderly person to fight accomplish?" Eira asked.

"Well, yeah I guess but otherwise there's not leaving." He said.

"But what about sever injuries? Wouldn't they need to leave if they were handicapped?"

"Okay, I guess there's that as well, but to continue, I'm was the second but you don't get to be a legend for that but I don't really mind. Jeong Jeong's a firebending genius. Some say he's mad-but he's not! He's enlightened. " Chey explained.

"You mean there's a firebender out here who's not with the Fire Lord?" Aang said, getting up excitedly. "We've gotta go see him! He can train me!"

"No!" Sokka snapped. "We're _not_ going to go find some _crazy_ firebender! They never bring anything but trouble for us!"

Chey stood up, annoyed, and gestured widely with his hands.

"He's not crazy! He's a genius! And he's the perfect person to train the Avatar! That's why I followed you into the festival." He said, raising his voice.

"Wait! You were following us?" Eira asked, annoyed that she didn't spot him before.

"Yes but I-" Chey began but Sokka cut him off.

"Look, thanks for the help, but we're leaving for the North Pole in the morning." Sokka said.

Aang looked sadly up at Sokka.

"Sokka, this could be my only chance to meet a firebending master who would actually be willing to teach me." He said.

"It can't just hurt just to talk to him." Katara said.

"Yeah, it could." Eira said. "We don't even know if he would want to teach Aang. No offense, Chey but I'm not sure if we should exactly trust you on this. You're not presenting a good case for yourself." Eira quickly stood up and began to leave but she found herself face-to-point with a spear brandished by a man in a straw hat and light armour with tribal make-up on his face.

Eira turned her head around slightly and saw everyone else was facing a similar situation.

"Don't move!" The man growled menacingly. The man began to gesture with his spear and Eira slowly began to walk away in the direction he pointed to.

They all walked in single file down a small grassy hill and Eira shot an annoyed look at Chey.

"Jeong Jeong told you not to look for the Avatar!" The man who pointed a spear at Eira said.

"Hold on, you know these guys?" Sokka asked, turning to Chey.

"Oh yeah! Lin Yee's an old buddy. Right, Lin Yee?" He asked.

"Shut up! Keep moving." Lin Yee yelled, clearly annoyed with Chey.

They walked further down the hill and Eira saw a small cottage made of leaves and logs in the distance, next to a river.

"Go on. He sees you only." Lin Yee said said to Chey.

"Oh, that's okay. We can chat later." Chey said nervously.

"Is that where Jeong Jeong is?" Aang asked, still excited. "I need to talk with him right away." Aang tried to move forwards but he was stopped by Lin Yee's spear shaft.

"No! You wait there." Lin Yee said sharply. He pushed Chey forwards sharply. "Go now!" He ordered.

Chey smiled anxiously.

"Don't worry! Everything'll be fine. He's a great man, great man!" He said, sounding more like he was trying to convince himself than anything else. Chey walked up down to the hut and left Aang, Sokka, Katara and Eira with Lin Yee and his other _friends_.

They walked them over to a small area and told them to wait there, leaving them alone.

"I don't think we should stay here for long." Eira admitted as they all sat down.

"Why not?" Katara asked.

"Well, Chey doesn't seem to be very popular among these people, and from what we heard, it doesn't seem like Jeong Jeong _wants_ to teach Aang. I doubt we'll get much from this place." Eira said, yawning. She was exhausted.

"It doesn't really matter right now, let's just get some rest." Sokka said, stretching out his arms and lying down.

"Fine." Eira began to lie down on the ground as well and closed her eyes.

Eira woke up as she heard some rustling footsteps. Aang, Sokka and Katara all sat up quickly and they all saw Chey approaching them.

"What happened?" Aang asked quickly. "Can I see Jeong Jeong now?"

Chey looked downcast.

"He won't see you. He's very angry that I brought you here. He wants you to leave immediately." He explained.

"Finally! Let's hit the road." Sokka said, stretching out but Aang wasn't nearly as happy.

"Why won't he see me?" Aang asked.

"He says you're not ready." Chey said. " Says you haven't mastered waterbending and earthbending yet."

"Wait, how does he know that?" Aang asked, shocked.

"He saw the way you walked into camp. He could tell." Chey said, as if it was an incredibly amazing skill.

"Not that impressive." Eira muttered. "Most bending relies on movement, ergo, it affects the way you walk."

"I'm going in, anyway!" Aang said, getting up and walking over to Jeong Jeong's house.

"Great… So we _are_ staying." Eira muttered, lying back on the ground and closing her eyes again, drifting off to sleep one more time.

o.O.o

The next morning, aware that they weren't going to get any traveling done, they spent their time next to the river, watching Aang's training and doing their own training as well.

Katara was practicing waterbending, Sokka was fishing and Eira was meditating, as Aang instructed her to do before she tried practicing airbending, though it was hard to concentrate on clearing her head when Jeong Jeong's gravelly voice was constantly barking at Aang.

"Widen you stance. Wider! Bend your knees." She heard him yell as she closed her eyes, trying to focus on the wind or whatever.

"Wait what do I do now?" Aang asked.

"Silence! Talking is not concentrating! Learn something from your friend. Is she talking? No, she's concentrating, as is your other friend. Even that oaf knows to concentrate on what he's doing!"

"Hey!" She heard Sokka complain in indignation.

_Gahhhh! Will they just be quiet?!_ Eira thought as she clenched her eyes shut, trying to block them out.

After a couple of hours, finally managing to clear her head, Eira began to practice the basic forms Aang gave her.

She lashed out with her arms and several small jets of air blasted out and she finished them off with a kick.

"Hey, Eira? How 'bout you take a break?" She heard Katara say from down by the bank.

Eira look down at the river to see Katara sitting down quietly, observing the fish. Eira wiped some sweat off her forehead.

"Sure, why not?" She said, sitting down next to Katara.

"I'm getting really worried about Aang." Katara admitted.

"Same. He's getting really impatient and with something like fire, it's really worrying." Eira looked down at the scar on her arm sadly. "Fire is even scarier if it can't be controlled." Eira said, thinking about how Katara got burned thanks to Aang being impatient, but hopefully, she'd be able to stop that from happening.

Aang was sitting in front of Jeong Jeon's house, meditating solemnly and as Jeong Jeong walked out, he started to talk.

"I thought about what you said, I promise I'll be more patient." Aang said softly as he looked down.

Jeong Jeong looked satisfied.

"We're going to work with fire now." He said.

"Oh yeah!"

Aang jumped up high in the air with joy before quickly regaining his composure.

"I mean, let us begin." He said.

Eira looked over at them as Jeong Jeong walked Aang back to the rock.

He grabbed a falling leaf out of the air and burnt a small hole in the middle of it. Eira immediately tensed, she needed to keep her guard up.

"Concentrate on the fire. I want you to keep the flame from reaching the edges of the leaf for as long as you can." Jeong Jeong instructed, handing the leaf to Aang.

"Master! There is trouble." A tribal man yelled, grabbing Jeong Jeong's attention.

"What's going on?" Eira asked, jumping up.

"Never you mind!" Jeong Jeong yelled as he ran off.

Aang turned back to his leaf, clearly annoyed.

"This is the _worst _firebending instruction ever!" He complained. "All he does is leave me for hours to concentrate or breathe!"

"I'm sure there's a good reason." Katara said.

"There is. Jeong Jeong had already trained a psychopath, he doesn't want to make the same mistake again." Eira said, remembering Zhao with a sour expression.

"But I'm the Avatar! I'm not going to _hurt_ anyone." Aang persisted. He looked at his leaf angrily, then took a deep breath, getting into his stance.

He took another deep breath and the leaf completely burnt up, creating a small flame.

"I did it! I made fire!" He said excitedly and Eira's pulse increased quickly.

"Aang, please, just be careful." She said, standing up slowly.

Aang started to toss the fire ball between his hands and it span around.

"Now that's some firebending!" Aang said happily.

"Aang. Please, just stop." Eira said sternly, stepping in closer to Katara, ready to protect her.

"I wonder how that juggler did it." Aang mused as he began to toss the fire into the air, spreading his arms out. The fire spread out and shot outwards in a circle around Aang and Eira quickly raised her arms to shield Katara but then she felt an awful, painful burning in her hands as the fire hit them.

Eira cried out in pain and fell to her knees, trying to hold in her cries.

"Eira! I'm so sorry!" Aang yelled as he ran over to Eira and she tried to give him a reassuring smiled but the overwhelming pain in her hands stopped her. She gasped trying to hold her pain in.

"I-It's alright, Aang." Eira whispered but she winced again. Why did it hurt so much?! Even when Zuko and Zhao burnt her it didn't hurt this much.

Sokka and Katara quickly surrounded her, their faces full of worry.

"Eira! What's wrong?" Sokka asked, then turning angrily to Aang. "What did you do?!"

"D-Don't blame… Don't blame him, ahhh!" Eira cried out again as she accidently hit her hands on the ground. They looked hideous, the flesh red and rough. It made Eira feel sick just looking at them.

"I'm sorry! It was an accident!" Aang cried guiltily but Sokka interrupted him by tackling him to the ground.

"I told you we shouldn't mess around with this! Look what you did! You burnt Eira!" He yelled angrily as Eira stood up shakily.

She staggered up and ran away, she needed some water.

Eira made her way quickly to the river bank and, wincing, she placed her hands in the water. The effect was both painful and soothing but after a while the pain lessened.

Katara ran over to her and she knelt down by Eira, her eyes more worried than Eira had seen before.

"Eira, don't worry. I can help." Katara bent some water and it looked like she was about to turn it into ice or something but it suddenly started to glow.

The water felt warmer and it wrapped around Eira's hands, making them feel like they had fallen asleep and as the water fell away, her hands her completely unscathed.

"What the, how did I-" Katara began as Eira stared at her hands in wonder. The pain was all gone, it was like nothing had happened.

"You have healing powers." Eira muttered, as if in a trance.

"The great benders of the Water Tribe sometimes have this ability." Jeong Jeong said, stepping out of the shadows. "I've always wished I were blessed like you - free from this burning curse." He said.

"But you're incredibly powerful and a great master." Katara said. "You have powers I'll never know."

"Water brings healing and life. Air brings freedom. But fire brings only destruction and pain. It forces those of us burdened with its care to walk a razor's edge between humanity and savagery. Eventually, we are torn apart." He said, turning away in shame.

Then suddenly the water in front of them was struck by fire blasts and Eira quickly scrambled away from the banks, Jeong Jeong taking a defensive stance.

"It's Zhao!" Eira yelled. She was _really_ not in the mood to deal with him.

"Go get your friends and flee! Do not come back here or you will all be destroyed. Hurry!" Jeong Jeong ordered as Katara and Eira both ran off further into the forest.

Sokka was preparing Appa to leave as Eira and Katara ran up to them and Eira looked around for Aang sadly.

"Where's Aang?" Eira asked quickly.

Sokka gestured to the cottage quickly and Eira immediately ran over to it, bursting through the curtains that blocked the doorway.

She walked in to see Aang sitting in front of several candles in almost complete darkness.

"Jeong Jeong tried to tell me that I wasn't ready. You tried to get me to stop. I wouldn't listen. I'm never going to firebend again." He said sadly, refusing to face Eira.

"Aang, enough of this. Sulking won't get you anywhere. If you want to help people, you're going to learn firebending eventually." Eira said bluntly.

"No, never again." He muttered.

"But I'm healed." Eira said. "Katara healed me." She walked over to Aang and knelt next to him, hugging him.

"People learn through mistakes, Aang. If you didn't burn me, you wouldn't have learnt to be patient. It all has some good in the end." Eira smiled, but it faded when she remembered their situation. "Aang, we need to go. Zhao's here and he's looking for us." She said, getting up.

"What?! Where?" Aang asked hurriedly.

"By the river, he's fighting Jeong Jeong." Eira said. Aang looked upset.

"I need to help him." He yelled, beginning to run u=out but Eira stopped him, grabbing his shawl.

"No. _We_ need to help him."

Aang smiled at her and the two airbenders ran out of the cottage together and darted towards the river.

"Jeong Jeong!" Aang yelled as they both ran through the trees.

They burst into the clearing but stopped as they saw Jeong Jeong surrounded by firebenders.

Seeing them, Jeong Jeong smirked and summoned some fire, spinning it into an orb around in and when the flames dissipated, he was gone.

Zhao looked furious.

"It's a trick! He's run off into the woods. Find him!" He yelled angrily before facing Aang and Eira. "Let's see what my old master taught you." He said to Aang.

"Or how about you leave before you manage to fail again?" Eira growled. Zhao scowled and shot a fireball at them. Aang and Eira quickly jumped out of the way, spinning to the side as Zhao sent two more fireballs at them.

"I see you know how to duck and run like a coward. That's why you'll die like the rest of your kind." Zhao said as he unleashed an intense fire blast at them.

"I see you know how to miss and fail like a loser and that's why you'll _fail_ like the rest of your army." Eira taunted.

Zhao roared with rage.

"I'll take special delight in wiping out your pathetic excuse for bending." He yelled as he sent an even more intense fire blast at them, more focused on Eira than Aang this time.

Eira and Aang kept on dodging Zhao's fire and soon half of the ground around them was completely ablaze.

Eira felt her blood boil and as she felt the heat from the fire blaze from Zhao's fire blasts she smiled.

"Aang, remember what Jeong Jeong said." Eira whispered.

"No self-control…" Aang and Eira looked over at Zhao's river boats and suddenly began to run towards them.

"Stand and fight, Avatar!" Zhao shouted angrily.

"Oh, were we fighting? I thought you were just getting warmed up!" Aang said mockingly.

"I was…" Zhao growled, burning up in anger at the remark. He shot several more fireballs at Aang and he dodged every single one of them.

"Is that all you got? Man, they'll make anyone an admiral these days!" Aang taunted.

Eira ran up behind Zhao as Aang distracted Zhao and she lashed her foot out at Zhao's feet, sending him falling to the ground.

"Yeah, and you'd think an admiral would have better balance." She mocked, running away towards the boats.

Zhao growled, jumping up and shooting more fire at them.

Eira just laughed as she dodged the flames, smiling even wider as she saw the boat she was on suddenly burst into flames.

"_Rwyt ti'n dwp. Wyt ti'n cyntuno, neu Wyt ti'n_ _anghytuno?_" Eira asked, smirking. Zhao growled angrily and Eira quickly jumped out of the way.

"You know, as admiral, I thought you'd be better than Zuko." Aang said, ducking as several fire blasts flew over him. "Sloppy, very sloppy."

Zhao sent more and more fire blasts at them as Eira and Aang jumped around boat to boat.

Now both Aang and Eira were standing on the same boat with Zhao standing in front of them.

"Nowhere to run now, you little smart mouths!" He growled, his fury rising as he sent a fire blast at them, burning the last of his boats. Eira and Aang jumped up, landing behind him smoothly.

"Yeah, you say this but you've already lost." Eira said, crossing her arms arrogantly.

"Are you crazy? You haven't thrown a single blow!" He shouted in enraged disbelief.

"But _you_ have." Aang finished, gesturing to the currently blazing, sinking boats. Zhao looked in disbelief at them, this fists shaking in fury.

"Jeong Jeong said you had no restraint." Aang said, _tsk_ing. Aang and Eira both jumped of the last of the flaming wreckage and landed into the water. Zhao roared in anger, the fire around him flaring up and Eira and Aang laughed as they re-surfaced in the water.

"Have a nice walk home!_ Twpsyn!_" Eira yelled as she and Aang swam back to the shore.

Appa, Sokka and Katara stood on shore and Aang and Eira jumped up onto Appa's saddle happily.

"Well, that was surprisingly fun." Eira said as Appa began to fly away into the sky. Aang nodded but he suddenly tensed.

"Wait! Where's Jeong Jeong?" Aang asked worriedly.

Sokka looked down at the forest.

"He disappeared. They all did." Sokka said.

Aang and Eira looked down at the forest sadly, where did they all go?

"Aang, you're burned!" Katara exclaimed as she saw Aang's arm. There was a red, angry burn on his arm where a section of his clothes was burnt through. "Let me help you." Katara said, unplugging her water skin and bending the water over the burn.

She took a deep breath and the water quickly glowed and as she bent the water away, Aang's skin was completely smooth.

"Wow, that's good water." Aang said in awe.

"When did you learn that?" Sokka asked. Katara shrugged.

"I guess I always knew." She said. Sokka looked outraged.

"Oh ... Well then thanks for all the first aid over the years. Like when I fell into the greaseberry bramble. Or that time I had two fishhooks in my thumb!" He said angrily, pointing his thumb at them.

Eira laughed.

"Well, it takes talent to get two fishhooks in the same thumb." She said, wincing. It wasn't very pleasant imagery.

"Oh, and the time that ming snake bit me! Thanks for healing that up. That was great. Really helpful." He continued, resulting in a painful jab from Eira.

"Sokka. Just shut up."

* * *

**Hope you liked reading this chapter, I know I loved writing the insults for Zhao and annoying him (If I was in Eira's position I'd be doing the same thing)**

**Anyway, I hope you like this and tell me what you thought and maybe any ideas for glider designs for Eira (she's going to get one next chapter)**


	25. Chapter 25- Flying Through Change

**Sorry for not updating in a while, but we're one step away from the North Pole! yay!**

**I really hope you like this chapter and please review! It's great hearing what you think about this story.**

* * *

Chapter 25: Flying Through Change

* * *

"So, travellers. The next time you think you hear a strange, large bird talking, take a closer look. I might not be a giant parrot, but a flying man. A member of a secret group of air walkers, who laugh at gravity and laugh at those bound to the earth by it!" The storyteller finished his story grandly and Eira smirked contently.

She wondered what the airbenders _actually_ told their younger citizens. Probably something better told than that. The man sounded like her primary school English teacher.

"Aren't airbender stories the greatest?" Aang asked, smiling as the storyteller began to walk around the campfire, collecting coins in a hat.

"Was it realistic?" Katara asked excitedly. "Is that how it was back then?"

"I laugh at gravity all the time." Aang confirmed, then her chuckled to himself. "Hah! Gravity."

_I wonder when I'll be strong enough to "laugh at gravity"._ Eira thought, smiling. _It sounds fun._

The storyteller suddenly shoved a hat in front of them.

"Jingle, jingle." He said. _I understand, no need to be pushy._ Eira thought, reaching into her bag for some coins to give to the man. She placed the two copper pieces into the hat and the man walked away, apparently satisfied.

Aang's eyes lit up from curiosity and joy as he got up to follow the man.

Eira looked at the fire, surprisingly happily considering the fact that she had been burnt at least three times in the short while she's been in this world.

"I wonder what I'd be like if I lived as an airbender in Aang's time." Eira muttered aloud.

"Well, I'm sure that you wouldn't exactly fit in, you can be quite aggressive." Sokka said bluntly, resulting in an elbow in his shoulder.

"Ow! See, I told you." He complained but Eira smirked.

"You did deserve that one, Sokka." Katara said, Sokka frowned, sulking, as Eira and Katara laughed at his indignation.

"To be honest, he deserves it every time." Eira said defensively.

"Guys! Guys! You'll never believe this!" Aang said quickly, destroying the calm atmosphere quickly.

"What is it, Aang?" Katara asked, not able to recognise whether his tone was nervous or excited.

"There could be more airbenders, in the Northern Air temple!" He yelled, running over to Appa.

Having no choice but to follow, Eira, Sokka and Katara quickly ran over and climbed on Appa.

"Yip yip!" Aang said, flicking the reigns and they were up in the sky quickly.

The sun had risen and was in the middle of the sky by the time they managed to get in range of the air temple.

Eira watched the fluffy clouds zip by and she looked back at Aang, yawning.

"Are you sure he was describing _airbenders_ exactly? Couldn't he just be talking about hang gliders or something?" Eira asked, resulting in several strange looks from them. "Oh, yeah. I mean, couldn't people just get a hold of some gliders and use the wind to glide instead of really flying?"

Aang considered it for a second but smiled brightly anyway.

"Either way, I get to show you an Air Temple. You missed the last one we went to." He said.

"But do you think we might get to see more airbenders?" Katara asked, clearly excited.

Sokka was whittling away at a piece of wood, but _what_ exactly he was trying to make wasn't clear. For someone who thought himself so great at the arts, he wasn't the best.

"Do you want me to be like you, or totally honest?" He asked dryly, not looking up from the piece of wood.

Katara frowned and put her hands on her hips angrily.

"Are you calling me a liar?" She asked with the same anger.

Sokka shrugged, completely unconcerned with her mood despite the obvious anger she was showing.

"I'm saying you're an optimist. Same thing." He said, brushing her anger off. After living with her so long he must know how to shrug off her anger.

"And I think you're a pessimist so-" Katara began to retaliate but she turned away when Aang pointed upwards, directing their attention.

"Hey, guys! Look at this!" Aang shouted excitedly. Eira sat up straighter to get a better look at what Aang was pointing at and saw it. Eira gasped in awe. It was an island floating in the sky, well, not quite but with the sea of clouds surrounding it, it certainly gave off that impression.

It was manly made out of rock and stone, with several pillar-like buildings and spires reminiscent of a temple's architecture. There were several large courtyards but what Aang was pointing at were the several dark shapes flying around it. They looked like people riding what looked like old-timey planes/gliders.

"They really are airbenders!" Katara said, absolutely amazed by the flying people, but they looked off. _To quote Toy Story; they're not flying, they're gliding with style._ Eira thought as she saw them and she noticed Aang's face fall. His smile vanishing and turning into a frown as he sat back grumpily, crossing his arms.

"No, they're not." He muttered, clearly disappointed. Eira looked at Aang sadly, she hadn't been expecting any airbenders but she understood his disappointment. He hoped his culture was still alive but his hopes were dashed.

Sokka and Katara didn't understand though.

"What do you mean "they're not"?" Sokka asked, marvelling at them. "They're flying just like you do with your glider!"

Aang glared at the people flying around the temple.

"Gliding, maybe, but no flying. You can tell by the way they move that they're not airbending. Those people have no spirit." He muttered bitterly.

Then, as he said that, a boy began to fly right above them in an oddly shaped chair with a large white canvas spread over a wooden frame. He was laughing exuberantly as he nearly ran into them but he flew off before he did.

"Aang, spirit isn't just reserved for airbenders." Eira said, looking in wonder at the boy. "He seems pretty spirited." She said, pointing to him as he flew dangerously close to them again but flew away again, still laughing and smiling but, unlike in Aunt Wu's village, the happiness didn't annoy her. It sounded light and free, not stupid and ignorant.

As the boy was flying away, Aang smiled devilishly. He stood up, grabbing his glider and jumped off to follow the boy, leaving Appa, Sokka, Katara and Eira to try and avoid the swarm of gliders now seemingly _attacking_ them.

Dozens of people on gliders began to fly past them and Appa had to constantly move sharply to avoid them. As they almost flew into Appa, he jerked upwards, sending Sokka and Katara into Eira and all of them shouted in pain, then Eira was screaming in fear as she fell of Appa's saddle.

Eira caught onto someone's glider and used her willpower to steer them to land in the courtyard. It seemed strange, the air responded to her so naturally it almost felt as if she had already been gliding.

And then she and the person on the glider both crashed into the courtyard, hard. Eira rolled over the glider and fell off the top of it, crashing onto the stone floor.

Eira got up groggily, groaning and rubbing her back. She looked at the glider and helped the person under it up.

"Uh, sorry about that. I didn't mean to crash your glider-thing." Eira said. The person was a young woman and she as she brushed herself off, she scowled at Eira but it wasn't really a surprise. She _did_ manage to fall on her glider and cause them to smash down onto the courtyard.

Up in the sky, Aang and the boy were flying around in the sky, showing off and the people down in the courtyard were yelling cheerfully as Appa began to land in the courtyard.

"Go Teo! Show that bald kid how it's done!" Someone yelled as everyone cheered them on. Teo and Aang did two loop-de-loops around the air temple and they began to spiral downwards.

As Aang flew around the temple walls and began doing several fancy moves, clearly showing off and as he re-joined Teo, they paused for a while and suddenly Teo began to draw something in the sky using smoke from his glider and after a few minutes he stopped the smoke and it turned out to be a picture of Aang's face with an annoyed expression.

Aang landed with Teo in the courtyard and Aang looked clearly annoyed, despite Teo looking happy.

Several people from the crowd ran up to Teo and took of the glider part of his chair to reveal a simple wooden wheelchair and as they finished that, Teo rolled over to Aang, who had landed next to Eira, Katara and Sokka.

"Hey, you're a real airbender." Teo said excitedly. "You must be the Avatar! That's incredible! I-I've heard so many stories about you!" He said, practically fangirling. Aang rubbed the back of his head awkwardly, clearly embarrassed.

"Thanks."

But as they were exchanging conversation, Eira and Sokka were looking at his wheelchair but Sokka, unlike Eira, Sokka ignored all formalities and ran up to Teo to examine the chair. The shape was similar to a normal wheelchair but it was made of a wooden structure and had wooden wheels, not metal. Eira wasn't around wheelchairs a lot but it looked like an incredibly well made one.

"Wow!" Sokka exclaimed. "This glider chair is incredible!"

Teo smiled up at him, his large grey eyes reminding Eira of Aang as well as his cheerful demeanour. She couldn't really understand how Aang couldn't see the 'spirit' inside him.

"You think this is good, wait until you see the other stuff my dad designed." Teo said, rolling his chair towards a building and Aang, Katara, Sokka and Eira followed him. Eira, Sokka and Katara followed him excitedly but as Eira looked back at Aang, she saw he wasn't nearly as excited or enthusiastic.

Eira's enthusiasm died a bit as she actually stepped into the room though. The room looked like it had been beautiful but now it was ravaged by time and metal pipes stuck out of the walls that once had beautifully intricate illustrations on them.

Sokka still wasn't fazed by the ugliness of it though. He simply ran up to all of the machines and looked at them on amazement.

"Wow!" He exclaimed in excitement.

"Yep, and my dad's the mastermind behind the whole place." Teo said proudly. "And everything's powered by hot air."

Eira looked up at an elevator-like contraption with two women on it. It was surprisingly sophisticated for the world's current technological point.

"It even pumped air currents outside to give us more lift while we're gliding." Teo explained.

"This place is unbelievable." Aang said monotonously. Eira was thinking the same thing, but with the two meanings. It was unbelievable with its amazing innovation and creativity, but it was unbelievable how they'd just destroy over a century of history without any apparent care of it.

"Yeah, it's great, isn't it?" Teo said, not understanding his disappointment.

"No. It's just unbelievable." Aang said, walking away to look closer at the walls.

Eira walked up next to Teo to explain.

"This was Aang's culture. It's a huge shock for him to find it so different and… no offence, messy." She said, staring at the walls.

Teo looked down, disappointed at Aang's reaction.

"But, I'm sure he'll understand why you're here. And he'll be glad that you managed to fill this temple with life again." Eira said, smiling reassuringly. That seemed to cheer him back up again.

"This place is awesome!" Sokka exclaimed. "How could Aang _not_ find this place great?!"

Katara began to walk to Aang, who was looking forlornly at the walls and a small stone fountain.

"This is supposed to be the history of my people…" He said softly.

It had an air bison statue on it and it looked very well crafted but it was spewing green water that was opaque and almost as dirty as the water from the water fountain at Eira's school.

Aang looked at it squeamishly and as black, thick smoke erupted from the sky bison statue's mouth he jumped backwards in disgust.

"Ugh!"

Katara placed a hand on his shoulder and smiled at him, trying to cheer him up.

"I'm sure there are some parts of the temple are still the same." She said as they all began to walk out of the dimly lit, smoky room and out onto a bridge that led to an open-roofed room that looked surprisingly clean and well-kept.

Along the clean stone walls there were several statues of meditating monks. Aang looked out at the statues and took a deep breath before smiling widely.

"It's nice to see that there's at least _one_ thing that isn't completely ruined." Aang said as he and Katara looked at a long-bearded statue.

Eira looked at the statues and as she began to wonder about what her life would be like if she'd been born in their world but she quickly turned to face the statue as she heard a man's voice begin to yell.

"Look out!"

And then a huge wreaking ball began to crash through the wall, smashing the head of the statue and crumbling the base of it. A large dust cloud flew out through the room and they all raised their arms to protect their faces from the dust but Eira accidently breathed some in and began to cough loudly.

As Eira lowered her arms, blinking the dust out of her eyes, and as the dust cleared she saw six men standing where the statue used to be.

"What the doodle? Don't you know enough to stay away from a construction site? We have to make room for the bathhouse." A mechanic said, who Eira guessed was Teo's father. He looked like Teo but he looked like he was the test subject for a lot of his inventions as his eyebrows looked half-burnt off and several of his fingers were wooden. His white apron was grimy and covered in dust and his glasses were bent and also covered in dust.

Aang looked angrily at the mechanic and Eira frowned, crossing her arms.

"Do you know what you did?!" Aang asked incredulously. "You just destroyed something sacred! For a stupid bathhouse!"

"Wasn't there a more respectful way to build your bathhouse?" Eira asked, annoyed as it just looked like pointless destruction. _Also, you've been here for at least over two years according to my memory. Have you just been going without bathing for that long?_ Eira added in thought.

"Well, people around here are starting to stink." Teo's father said, waving his hand in front of his face, as though trying to dissipate a bad smell and that response _really_ wasn't a good one. He really couldn't sound less interesting in keeping the temple well kept.

Aang pointed accusingly at Teo's father.

"This whole place stinks!" He yelled, whipping out his staff and slamming it to the ground in the direction of the crane/wreaking ball, using his airbending to send it flying off the edge.

Eira ran up to Aang and grabbed his arm, stopping him from going further.

"Aang. That's enough. I'm not saying that they're right for destroying the temple or that sacred statue but you still shouldn't just destroy _their_ things." Eira said sternly.

"But this is a sacred temple to our people!" Aang shouted, still incredibly angry. "They can't treat it this way. You'd understand if you knew what it was like when the monks were here. I know what it's supposed to look like and it's not this!"

"You're people? The monks? But, you're just twelve." Teo's father said, scratching his beard.

"He's the Avatar, and I'm an airbender." Eira explained as Teo rolled up to his father.

"He used to come here a hundred years ago." Teo said. Teo's father scratched his beard thoughtfully.

"But I thought the airbenders were all wiped o-" He began, speaking more to himself than them.

"It's a long story." Eira said, cutting him off. She didn't have the time to go into it with these people.

"But what are you doing here?" Aang asked. "Who said you could be here?"

Teo's father turned away from them, thinking deeply about his response.

"Hmm, what are we doing here…? That is the question." He began. "A long time ago, but not a hundred years, my people became refugees," Teo's father continued, walking around behind his son's wheelchair. "After a terrible flood. And then Teo, who was just an infant at the time, was badly injured and lost his mother, my wife." He sniffed, clearly upset at the memory.

He looked up at the sky, watching the clouds pass by.

"I needed somewhere to rebuild and, wouldn't you know it, I stumbled across this place. I just couldn't believe it! Everywhere there was inspiration! Pictures of flying people, but it was all empty. Nobody here, nobody to call it home, and then I came across these fan-like contraptions!" He said, spreading his arms, as if he was flying and ran up to Aang.

"Our gliders." Aang said, supplying the information. Teo's father smiled brightly.

"Yes! Little, light flying machines!" He said, flapping his arms to indicate flight. "They gave me a new idea. To build a new life for my son, in the air! Then everyone would be on equal grounds, but, without the ground. We're just in the process of improving upon what's already here."

Katara wiped tears off on Aang's shirt and Sokka looked as if he was holding some back. Eira was moved by the story but she thought he told it a bit over-dramatically for tears.

"And, after all, isn't improving on what's already here what nature does?" He continued.

"Nature knows where to stop." Aang said.

"And it respects what came before it." Eira added. He scratched his beard again.

"I suppose that's true. Unfortunately, process has a way of getting away from us. Wait, look at the time!" He said, pointing at candles. "Come!" He yelled to the other workers. "The pulley system must be oiled before dark." He informed.

Eira looked closely at the candles and saw that it had twelve notches on it, all equally spaced down the candle and it had almost burned down to the eighth notch.

Sokka walked up to the candles and watched them with intrigue.

"Wait, how can you tell the time from that this? All the notches look the same." Sokka asked Teo's father.

"The candle will tell us. Watch." He said, pointing to the candle. After a second, the candle finally burnt down to the eighth notch and the candle flame began to spark and pop four times in a row.

"You put spark powder in the candle!" Sokka exclaimed happily.

"Four flashes. So it's exactly four hours past mid-day. Or as I call it: four o'candle." Teo's father said.

"But you can't tell the time between the hours." Eira said. "If you could mechanicalise the process, and add a way to count the minutes it could become clearer." She said, thinking of how a clock works with all of the gears and hands on it.

Teo's father looked at Eira, his eyes lighting up with inspiration.

"That's genius! You two should see my other inventions upstairs, but first, I'm going to show you something." Teo's father said, walking up to a door and gesturing for Sokka and Eira to follow.

Eira and Sokka quickly walked over to the door and Teo's father picked up three small lanterns buzzing with a dim blue light.

Teo's father guided them down a small, dark, stone staircase and Eira found that the lanterns were practically useless. The dim blue light only managed to make sure that she didn't manage to trip over her feet and send them all flying down the stairs.

"These lanterns are terrible. I can't see!" Sokka complained, opening the lid to his lantern. A blue firefly flew out of it. _Well, that explains the buzzing._ Eira thought.

"Why would you want to use fireflies for light?" He asked, confused. Teo's father turned to them and he waved his arms urgently.

"Hey! Close that up! They'll get loose!" He yelled. Sokka quickly closed it, looking guiltily at him. After taking a deep breath in relief, Teo's father calmed down.

"Fireflies are a non-flammable light source." He explained as they all began to walk further down the stairs again.

They continued walking for a while until they arrived at a wooden door.

"Cover your nose." Teo's father instructed and they all put hands over their noses. "And hold your breath."

Eira inhaled sharply as Teo's father opened a small hatch on the wooden door and revealed a dark empty room.

"Okay… So you brought me all the way down here to see an empty room." Sokka said through his hand.

"It's not completely empty, Sokka. It's filled with gas, right?" Eira said, remembering the episode.

"Correct, it's filled to the brim with natural gas. I came across it my first time here." Teo's father explained. "Unfortunately, I was carrying a torch at the time. Nearly blew my self and the whole place even more sky high! Thought my eyebrows would never grow back." He wiggled his eyebrows and that explained why his eyebrows looked half burned off.

"So this place is an explosion waiting to happen." Sokka said, slightly horrified.

"Yes, until I figure out how to locate something I can't see, hear, smell or touch." He said, scratching his beard in thought.

"Then why can't you make it something you can see, hear, smell or touch." Eira said, terrified of either dying from natural gas poisoning or explosions. Those didn't seem like good ways to go at all.

"Yeah, you're right. If you add some sort of smell or dye in there, you could easily spot a leak."

Teo's dad hit his forehead in realisation.

"Why didn't I think of that before?!" He yelled. "That's perfect!" Then he began to run back up the stairs, dragging Sokka and Eira back up the stairs and up to his invention room.

The room was covered in blueprints and sketches as well as prototypes, it was stuffy and cluttered with the busy air of new ideas. It seemed to go by the _organised chaos_ idea that her bedroom went by.

Eira looked around and in the corner of her eye she saw several blueprints of blimps and… tanks? _Oh yeah, he creates things for the Fire Nation…_ Eira thought, remembering the end of the episode. It was sad to see Teo react to it. A man he admired beyond anything, supporting the people who killed a nation.

Sokka and Teo's father began to search through the scroll and materials for dyes or fragrances and Eira looked at a small prototype of a blimp. She reached out to touch it but Teo's father saw her and waved his hands at her.

"No, don't touch that. It's an old experiment, but I just can't think of a way to make it work." He muttered disappointedly.

"I can. If you can figure out how to move it, without it falling to the ground, or constantly rising into the sky."

"Yes, yes, but how? If you add a hole in the top it'll just let it all out." He muttered, and then Sokka's eyes began to spark with a new idea.

"But if you add a lid, and make it moveable…" Sokka said.

"…Or if you can turn the heat source on and off…" Eira added. Teo's father stood up straighter, smiling as he reached for the prototype.

"…You can move it up and down without it continuously rising and falling! That's it!" He finished. "You two are incredible!"

_I'm just really thinking of how things work in my world, they're not really __**my**__ ideas._ Eira thought guiltily, then cursing herself. _Darn it! Why didn't I figure out how more things work in my world? Then I could jumpstart the technology here!_ It was so annoying, she had all these ideas and creations from her world but she had no idea how most of them worked.

Computers, the internet, even type writers, she just had no idea how they worked.

Eira looked around and saw a packet of red powder.

"Excuse me but, is this a dye?" Eira asked.

"Yes, it's just some red powder I use for some inventions, it had a bright red colour if added to water." Teo's father explained.

"Then if you threw it into the air, it's form a bright red dust cloud and be perfect for the gas room." Eira said.

"You're right!"

Eira stood up, holding the red dye in her hand.

"I'll go throw this into the room then." Eira said, starting to leave. "But don't worry. I won't open the door, just the hatch and even then, just for a second.

Teo's father nodded and Eira ran out of the room and down some wooden, uneven stairs to the main room with all of the pipes and machinery. She turned down another staircase, grabbing a lantern along the way and as she sped down the stairs, Eira quickly opened the hatch and threw the small pouch in.

The pouch exploded into a red dust cloud that swirled around the room and Eira was pretty sure that if there was a leak in there, the red powder would leak out with it.

As Eira walked up the stairs, she hugged the wall quickly as she saw Teo's father quickly sprint off down a cobblestone hallway.

Remembering what he was running to, Eira followed him. He was surprisingly fast for a middle aged man.

He saw a large door at the end of the corridor swung open and his shock was clearly visible. Aang, Katara, Sokka and Teo were standing in front of it and Aang looked even more furious.

As Eira walked up behind Teo's father, she was what was inside. It was filled to the brim with steel Fire Nation weapons, tools and in the centre was a giant red and black war balloon with a clear Fire Nation insignia. The room felt evil, over-bearing and malicious, and it was all made by Teo's father.

"What is this?" Eira asked as she walked past Teo to look up at the unfinished war balloon.

"I'm not sure." Teo said bitterly. "Dad. Do you want to explain this to us?"

Teo's father was hesitant, he obviously didn't want to, but he began to explain.

"It was about a year after we moved here." _And you never built a bathhouse in that time._ "Fire Nation soldiers found our settlement. You were too young to remember this, Teo." Teo's father looked desperately at Teo. "They were going to destroy everything! Burn it to the ground! I pleaded with them, _begged_ them to spare us!" He looked downcast. "They asked what I had to offer. And I offered… my services."

Teo looked at his father with part disgust and sadness. His pride in his father was slipping away. "You must understand, Teo. I did this for you!"

Teo simply looked away in shame and taking that as Teo's answer, Teo's father left.

They were all left in silence to process these thoughts.

"He did do it for you, Teo." Eira said softly. Teo didn't say anything, his face shadowed. Aang gripped his staff angrily.

"We have to stop this." He said. Teo nodded and they both ran off, Sokka, Katara and Eira following them.

Teo and Aang burst into his father's workshop and they saw him absent-mindedly working on the blimp and Eira saw two small eggs in it with smiley faces drawn on them. It looked so sad. As they all walked in he let go of the blimp and it began to float up to the sky.

"When are they coming?" Aang asked.

"Soon." Teo's father said sadly. Suddenly the candle in the corner began to pop. "Very soon." He added.

"But you can't give them more weapons." Eira said. "Can't you just use the weapons against _them_ if they cause you trouble again?" Eira asked.

Teo's father looked down hopelessly.

"They're forces are too big. We can't say no, or they'll destroy this place… And everyone in it." He said. Teo looked full of shame at his father.

"How can I be proud of someone when their genius and inventions are being used for murder?" He asked.

Teo's father stood up, clearly frustrated.

"I just need some time to think." Then the bell on his desk began to ring. Teo's father visibly paled as he looked at the ringing bell and he quickly turned to them.

"You need to leave! Go!" He said urgently but Teo and Aang stood stubbornly and Eira understood. They weren't going to leave Teo's father at the hands of someone from the Fire Nation.

"We're not leaving!" Teo said persistently.

"Then hide! Please!" He said, looking back at the bell. They all hid behind a pile of inventions and after making sure they were all hidden, Teo's father pulled a rope and a trap door suddenly opened.

Eira scowled as she saw a Fire Nation army person (maybe a general or a war minister, Eira wasn't really familiar with all of the ranks within the Fire Nation army) was lifted into the room and as he looked around, annoyed, Eira felt angrier.

This was the person blackmailing Teo's father.

"You know better than to keep me waiting. Give us what you owe us so we can be on our way." There was a pregnant pause as he waited for Teo's father's answer. "Well? Is there a problem?"

"Well, actually there is." Eira said, getting up from behind the pile.

"What is this?" The man hissed angrily.

"Eira, don't get involved." Teo's father persisted but then Aang also came out from hiding.

"The deal's off." Aang quickly airbent the door shut and entered an airbending stance.

"The Avatar…" The war minister said, almost in disbelief.

"No, Aang. If we just give him what he wants, he'll just leave." Teo's father said desperately.

"And if not, the Fire Nation will burn this place to rubble!" The war minister said menacingly.

"But if you don't leave, you'll be facing even more trouble." Eira growled as she quickly kicked out her foot and the slash of air created pushed him against a wall harshly. "You're leaving empty-handed and if you attack this place, you'll be leaving with less than what you came here with."

"Then the destruction of this temple," He began, jabbing a finger at Eira and Aang. "Will be on your heads!" He got up and left through the trap door and as he left, Aang airbent the door shut.

Everyone left in the room stared at Aang and Eira but Eira clenched her fists in determination.

"No it won't." She whispered under her breath. She would protect this place and everyone there, no matter what.

o.O.o

"This is bad." Teo said as Aang leant on a bridge wall and Eira looked down on the temple courtyard.

"Very bad!" Sokka agreed.

"What are we going to do? How can we possibly keep them all away?" Katara asked.

"It's simple." Eira said. "We have the sky, that's something the Fire Nation doesn't have. And we have home field advantage. They're going to have to climb up those cliffs to get up to us. If we co-ordinate attacks on them to keep them away, we can do it."

"And I'm going to help you." Teo's father said, appearing in the doorway.

"Good." Aang said. "We'll need it."

o.O.o

Eira began rushing around, trying to get things sorted for the attack and she managed to stumble onto a weird room. It was full of sticks.

"Ookaaaay. Sticks, not exactly helpful." She muttered to herself. They did look familiar though.

Eira walked over to one and picked it up. It felt incredibly strong and sturdy for something that was probably in there for over a hundred years.

Eira waved it around and, to her surprise, several smaller wooden sticks with yellow fabric attached to it folded out very quickly. These were gliders!

"This is awesome." Eira exclaimed. She had been wanting to try out riding a glider for ages and now she was holding a real airbender one. Eira flicked it back and it folded back into a stick.

"So cool." Eira whispered under her breath as she ran out of the room and into the room she _actually _wanted to go into.

Sokka and Teo's father were working on the war balloon and Aang and Katara were watching it, mystified. As Eira walked in, Aang and Katara turned to her, looking serious.

"Are the people in the courtyard all armed?" Katara asked and Eira nodded.

"They have the majority of the bombs and they have some of the weapons." Eira explained. Katara nodded.

"We should get down there." Aang said. "Sokka, are you okay with finishing the balloon?" Aang yelled and Sokka gave him a thumbs up as he was working on a metal frame of some sort.

Eira, Aang and Katara ran down to the courtyard and as they approached the people armed with the bombs, Eira looked around them nervously. The atmosphere was incredibly tense.

"Hey, Aang. Just as a question, how exactly do you use a glider?" Eira asked, staring at the snowy ground below the temple.

Aang raised an eyebrow at her, but then he saw the staff in her hand and smiled.

"You found a glider! That's amazing, Eira!" He exclaimed happily. Eira smiled back.

"Yeah, I found a few lying around and I thought no one would mind if I used one."

"Well, gliding is one of the easiest things to do. Even the youngest airbenders can use them easily." Aang explained. "You generally just focus on where you want to do and your airbending will usually just do the work for you."

"Cool… I wonder where Sokka is, though." Eira said, looking around.

"They're coming!" A girl yelled as she looked over a ledge and immediately everyone tensed.

"Are we ready?" Teo asked, rolling up to them, an expectant look on his face.

"Yes. But where's Sokka with that war balloon?" Katara asked worriedly. Aang stood up straighter and grabbed his glider.

"We'll have to start without it." He said and then the people in the courtyard began to fly off the ledge with their flying machines, all carrying a bomb or two. The crowd cheered as everyone jumped off and began their assault.

Katara, Teo and Eira hopped onto Appa and they both flew into the sky. Eira looked down and saw several Fire Nation soldiers climbing the rock Cliffside but Eira threw down a smoke bomb at them, causing them to fall back into the snow, coughing.

From the sky, bombs were raining down on the Fire Nation troops, the gliders flying around like insects, all dodging the Fire Nation's retaliations.

As Aang swooped down below them, Eira passed him a slime bomb. He threw it down at the cliff and the slime coated the soldiers quickly and Aang air scooted across the cliff and then used waterbending to cause the snow on the cliff to fall down on the slimed men before jumping back on his glider.

"We've got them on the run! We need more slime!" Aang yelled to them as they all passed more bombs to gliders flying past them.

Hooks exploded through the cloud layer and they almost hit Appa but fell short and instead latched onto the Cliffside.

More hooks began to latch onto the cliff and tanks began to scale it, using the hooks and chains as support.

Aang, seeing that, began to airbend the hooks away and the tanks fell to the ground. Aang followed them down to the ground and airbent at them, flipping them over.

Gliders continued to swarm them and threw more bombs at them but the tanks began to shoot fire at them.

Aang continued to flip the tanks over but all it did was get the bodies to turn around and right themselves.

"Those things are unstoppable!" Katara yelled.

Teo looked thoughtfully at the tanks, trying to remember what he knew. "I think I know how they work. I remember my dad tinkering with the counterbalancing system. It's something to do with water. Works great, huh?" He said and Katara's eyes lit up.

"Water? Can you get me close to one?" Katara asked to Appa and Appa growled in response, flying towards the tanks.

As Katara got close to one, she threw up her arms and the snow and the water inside the tanks spiked up as it turned to ice. She continued to do that as Appa sailed by and Eira threw more bombs at the troops.

"We're out of bombs!" She yelled, turning to Teo as Appa flew further up the cliff.

Katara looked up at the temple.

"Come one Sokka. Where're that war balloon?" She whispered. And then, after a small wait, the giant red war balloon flew into view. A black Fire Nation insignia painted on it.

Eira stood up on Appa and flicked open her new glider. The yellow fabric fanned out and she leaped off Appa, completely terrified.

She began to fall but at the last second she managed to fly up to the war balloon. Aang was right. It was easy.

Eira managed to fly right up to the war balloon and land next to Sokka and Teo's father.

"Hey." Eira said nonchalantly and Sokka and Teo's father quickly turned around to see her.

"Eira! You can fly now!" Sokka said.

"Yes, but we need you to drop the bombs, now." Eira said, brushing him off. Sokka smiled.

"I'm on it!" He said, whipping out his knife a slashing at a rope holding the bombs.

"Bombs away!" Teo's dad said cheerfully as the bombs flew down and fell on the troops and tanks.

Sokka cut another rope and Eira looked at the carnage. Tanks were smothered by slime, soldiers were stopped by stink, smoke and they were all pushed back by fire.

"Oh no, that was the last one!" Sokka complained as he looked down.

Eira was also looking down but she saw a small puff of red dust at the base of the cliff.

"Wait, isn't that…" She began unsurely.

"That's where the gas is leaking!" Teo's father said and Sokka, hearing that, began to push the engine away from the bottom of the balloon in an attempt to get it free.

"What are you doing? That's our fuel source." Teo's father asked incredulously.

"It's the only bomb we've got." Sokka said, tipping the engine over with one final push. Eira watched as it fell down to the base of the cliff and the explosions started.

Smoke billowed out and the base of the cliff was surrounded in fire and heat. Eira shielded her eyes from the intense light and smoke and after a couple of minutes, she opened them.

The tanks were all gone and the cliff was surprisingly undamaged. All of the people in gliders had landed on the courtyard and all of the Fire Nation troops were running away.

They were all happy, but then they realised that without an engine, they were going down. They all held on to avoid being thrown up into the air but Eira managed to get out her glider.

"Hang onto me!" Eira shouted and as they both held onto her, she jumped off and despite the difficulty of it, she managed to fly them all up onto the courtyard.

They all fell onto the stone floor and Eira rolled slightly before managing to sit up.

"It's finally over." She whispered, completely out of breath.

Aang looked at Teo's father and helped him up.

"You know what?" He said. "I'm really glad you guys all live here now." A small hermit crab began to crawl across Aang's feet and Aang bent down slowly to pick it up.

"Maybe you weren't born here, but you found this empty shell and made it your home. And now you protect each other." Aang finished, letting the crab crawl around his hand.

"Thanks, Aang. It means a lot, coming from you." Teo said, smiling brightly.

"There are going to be a lot of changes in time, but just because something changes…" Eira began, looking up at the sky. "It doesn't mean it's completely different." Eira turned to see Aang and Teo standing next to each other and despite their differences, they both had the same smiles, innocent grey eyes and spirit.

* * *

**Really hope you enjoyed this chapter and I'm so happy that Eira finally has a glider!**

**Please review!**


	26. Chapter 26- Changing The World

**Yes! We're finally in the North Pole and the finale is coming soon people! Yeah! I hope you all enjoy reading this chapter, I still can't believe so many people have seen it and how many people have left reviews, favourites and follows. Each one means a lot to me so I hope you can continue to support Book 2 and Book 3 in the future.**

**So, on with the show. Please leave a review and enjoy! :D**

* * *

Chapter 26: Changing The World, One Person at a Time

* * *

After two days of non-stop flying, saying that Eira was bored would be an understatement. The only food they had eaten was uncooked as they couldn't start a fire on Appa's back, all topics of conversation had been burnt out and Eira found that it was hard to sleep in the freezing North Pole.

But, all of that considered, at least it wasn't as cold as the _real_ North Pole. Even with her Water Tribe coat on that would freeze her and give her all sorts of illnesses.

Sokka was hanging lazily over the back of Appa's saddle as Katara propped herself up on her elbows, staring into nothingness. Eira was sitting near all of their bags, trying to get warmer.

"I'm not one to complain," Sokka began, indicating he was about to complain.

"Yes, you are." Eira grumbled under her breath.

"But can't Appa fly _any_ higher?" He asked. Eira looked over the saddle and saw that they were barely flying above the water but since Appa had been flying for so long, Eira didn't really mind. He had been carrying all of them and all of their things for about three or four weeks now.

Aang turned around from looking at the water in front of them and looked at Sokka, clearly peeved.

"I have a bright idea!" Aang began irritably, pointing an accusing finger at Sokka. "How about we get on _your_ back and _you_ can fly us to the North Pole?!"

Sokka looked sarcastically at Aang.

"I'd _love_ to." He then turned around and waved his butt at all of them. "Climb on everyone, Sokka's ready for take-off."

"Sokka, just stop it. Aang, you too." Eira said, not really in the mood to deal with it. "We should find the Northern Water Tribe soon, and we can all have a nice rest and some food when we get there."

Sokka looked at her, still irritated.

"How? We can't even find the Northern Water Tribe." He said, gesturing the the vast ocean around them, nothing but water and ice for miles around them. "There's nothing up here."

Aang dropped his head and laid back on Appa lazily. When were they going to find anything? All this travelling and they couldn't find the place! _It's just like family holidays and we can't even find the hotel we spent days of travelling to get to._ Eira thought.

Eira relaxed and began to listen to the gentle waves of the water, but as she listened, she began to hear a weird slushing sound.

"Katara, Aang? Are either of you waterbending?" She asked, sitting up.

They both shook their heads and as Eira looked over the edge pf the saddle, a spike of ice shot up.

Eira was thrown backwards as Appa suddenly rose into the sky to avoid the ice. They all screamed as Aang tugged at the reigns, eyes wide in fear, and Appa managed to quickly avoid the sudden obstacle.

They all held onto the saddle for dear life as Aang quickly swerved from side-to-side, narrowly avoiding the constant ice, shooting up at them.

Aang growled in annoyance as he tried to fly up higher but he wasn't quick enough, as the ice shot up at him, it encased itself around Appa's leg, freezing instantly.

The momentum that Appa was carrying caused the ice to break off but the ice made it seemingly impossible for Appa to fly straight. He span and span as his balance was thrown off and Eira screamed, clenching her eyes shut as she held onto the edge of the saddle. It felt like a rollercoaster and she wasn't good with them.

Appa spiralled into the water, causing the water surround him to be thrown up around him and as he managed to turn himself upright and as Sokka, Katara, Eira and Aang managed to climb back onto the saddle, all of them completely soaked with the exception of Katara and Aang due to their waterbending (lucky sods), ice began to form in the water around them, completely trapping Appa.

Eira shivered and she shakily summoned a small orb of air and expanded it outwards around herself and Sokka, drying them but not quite warming them.

Appa bellowed as he tried to move away from the ice but he stopped as they saw several Water Tribe boats approaching them, each holding at least two waterbenders. Katara and Sokka looked alarmed but it melted away as they saw the Water Tribe symbol on the boats.

"They're waterbenders!" Katara exclaimed happily. "We found the Water Tribe!"

"This is incredible!" Sokka said.

"State your business in our waters!" A man from the boat yelled, clearly a formality.

"We're escorting the Avatar to the North Pole!" Eira called back. There was a cheer from the boats.

"Men, get rid of that ice! The Avatar's finally arrived!"

o.O.o

After getting rid of the ice, the waterbenders escorted Appa, who stuck to just swimming in the water, to the Northern Water Tribe. Katara, Sokka, Aang and Eira looked around excitedly for the city.

As Appa swam, Eira finally saw it. They swam past a small ice tunnel and Eira finally saw it. It was a huge wall, made entirely of ice and in the centre of it; a large blue Water Tribe symbol was carved. It looked gorgeous.

"There it is!" Aang said, pointing excitedly at the wall.

"It's amazing…" Eira gasped. The amount of waterbending to craft this city must've been ginormous, but it must be convenient for earthbenders and waterbenders as they could easily mould their environments and create practically anything.

"The Northern Water Tribe." Katara said in awe.

"Ad we're finally here." Sokka finished.

A small semicircle of the wall was removed by the waterbenders in front of them and Appa sailed quickly in, closely followed by the boats.

As Appa swam in, part of the water was cut off by two large walls and at the top of these walls, several waterbenders stood. They all used waterbending to cut out several large gaps in the wall and the water evened out with the canals that connected the city.

"This is just incredible." Eira said, unable to truly believe that she was seeing all of this.

"I can't believe how many waterbenders live up here!" Katara said, absolutely fascinated as she watched the waterbenders work. Aang turned to Katara, beaming.

"We'll find a master to teach us, no problem." Aang said happily. As Appa passed through the channels of the city and Eira looked around, she saw a group of civilians gather around the canals to watch them pass by.

Watching how beautiful the Water Tribes were, something ran around in Eira's mind. It had just occurred to her how different the Water and Fire Nations were. _Here it's cold, natural, blueish and old-fashioned. _She thought, looking around. _But in the Fire Nation it's hot, full of steel and other artificial things, orange and ahead of its time._ And if it weren't for the first and last aspect of the Water Tribes, she'd love to live there.

"Everything here is just so beautiful." Eira commented.

"Yeah… She is…" Sokka said, as if in a trance. Eira turned around and saw him standing on Appa's tail and gazing at a beautiful young woman passing by in a small canoe-_esque_ boat. It was Princess Yue.

Eira smiled, but it was tinged with sadness as she remembered what happens to her. She sacrifices her life to save the world… _No! I'm not going to let that happen!_ Eira thought, determinedly. _I know what happens, and I'm going to change it._

The boats led them to a small stable and they let Appa stay there and rest. After collecting their things from Appa's saddle and getting the saddle off Appa, the waterbenders led them to a small little igloo.

Eira walked inside and gasped. Apart from the animal décor, it looked amazing. Everything in the Water Tribe looked amazing.

Eira dumped her stuff in the corner of the room and turned to the others.

"Okay, so… You and Katara are going to learn waterbending while we're here, right?" She asked, looking at Aang.

"Yep!" He agreed cheerfully.

"I just can't wait! I'm finally going to learn waterbending." Katara said, her excitement was amazing.

Then Sokka realised where Eira was going with this.

"Wait, then what will Eira and I do?" He asked. Eira nodded sadly.

"Yeah, I have no idea of what I'm really supposed to do. I guess Sokka could learn from the warriors here but Aang will be too busy to teach me airbending and I don't really have anything else." Eira said, thinking it out. _Maybe if there's an archive or a library I could try and find out more about this world and general things that I have no idea about._

Everyone in the tent was thinking in silence before someone pushed back the fabric "door" and entered the room. It was a young man, around sixteen or seventeen and he wore the typical blue tunic of the Water Tribes. He looked slightly nervous and held a small piece of paper in his hand.

"Excuse me, Avatar. But you and your friends are invited to a feast, this evening. It is being held in your honour." He said, handing the small piece of paper to Aang.

Aang quickly scanned the piece of paper and smiled.

"We'll definitely be there." Aang said cheerfully.

o.O.o

One other thing about the Water Tribes, they knew how to hold a feast. Men were playing drums and other instruments as dozens of people talked and ate under the near-full moon and dark sky. The entire place radiated a welcoming energy and for once, Eira felt like she _wasn't_ being targeted or hunted. It was nice.

A massive ice sculpture crab was set in a pool of was set in a pool of water and there was a large stage of sorts in the centre and to the side of the area.

The food selection was massive but it all was sea-based as the Northern Water Tribe had been isolated for an incredibly long time. That was the one problem with having an impenetrable ice fortress in the North Pole. You didn't really get to meet new people or branch out a lot apparently.

The chief of the Northern Water Tribe, Chief Arnook, stood up in the front of the area with all of the tables facing him and as he did, everyone stopped talking to listen to what he was about to say.

"Tonight, we celebrate the arrival of our brother and sister from the Southern Tribe." He announced, gesturing to Sokka and Katara. The former stuffing his face and the latter looking proud. "And they have brought with them, some very special people, people whom many of us had disappeared from the world until now… An airbender and the Avatar!" He gestured at Eira and Aang and Eira smiled awkwardly, pretty sure her face was turning bright red.

The crowd applauded and cheered but Arnook had more to say.

"We also celebrate my daughter's sixteenth birthday." He announced, moving to the side as Princess Yue and two other girls flanking her walked up to his place.

Princess Yue certainly was very beautiful. Despite her bright white hair, she looked young. Her tanned skin glowed and her blue eyes shone with life. Seeing her looking so… alive, made Eira even more determined to stop Zhao from killing the moon spirit and forcing her to sacrifice her life.

She _would _stop it.

"Princess Yue is now of marrying age." Arnook announced and Eira couldn't help but notice that Sokka stopped stuffing his face as he heard that. Again, sweet but tinged with sadness.

"Thank you, father." Yue said respectfully before turning to address the crowd. "May the great Ocean and Moon spirits watch over us during these troubled times!" Finished speaking, Yue turned away and began to walk towards the tables.

"Now, Master Pakku and his students will perform!" Arnook announced as Pakku and two other students on the stage began to waterbend. It looked really cool.

They bent three large orbs of water around them in an intricate display, completely captivating Aang and Katara, and as they merged the three orbs into one large stream and bent it around each other, Yue began to sit down at their table, next to Sokka.

Seeing her, Sokka quickly swallowed the mass of food he'd shoved into his mouth and as she sat down, he managed to compose himself.

"Hi there. Sokka, Southern Water Tribe." He said. Yue smiled politely and bowed slightly.

"It's very nice to meet you." She said. There was an awkward silence for a moment as they both nervously tried to figure out what to say next,

"So… uhhh…. You're a princess, huh?" Sokka blurted out nervously. Yue nodded and smiled. Sokka managed to calm down as he leant on his elbow. "You know, back in my tribe, I'm kind of like a prince, myself." He said. _Very smooth, Sokka._ Eira thought.

"And by prince, he means that he's the oldest boy in his tribe." Eira added, smirking as she took a small sip of water. "Not a prince in the actual sense of the word."

Yue smiled and giggled slightly as Sokka shot Eira a small look of annoyance.

"Yeah, but I… uh… Do you mind, Eira? I'm trying to have a conversation here." He said quickly.

Eira bowed teasingly.

"Humblest of apologies, _Prince_ Sokka." She said sarcastically as she turned back to the plate in front of her, still listening to their conversation.

"So, it looks like I'm going to be in town for a while. I'm thinking… maybe we could… do an, activity, together?" He asked, clearly not knowing what he was exactly saying.

Yue laughed, slightly confused.

"Do an activity?" She asked, hoping for more details. Sokka blushed in embarrassment and his eyes darted around before tactically stuffing more food in his mouth to avoid speaking.

"Good call…" Eira whispered to him before laughing. She was enjoying his failed attempt at courting far too much. "So, Yue. Can I ask you something?" Eira asked, talking directly to Yue.

"Yes?"

"Is there some sort of library or archive in the Northern Water Tribe?" Yue thought it over for a while before nodding.

"Yes. We store a collection of files in a building quite close to where you are staying, though I'm not sure if it would have what you'd be looking for. We haven't updated it in roughly eighty or so years." Yue said.

Eira shrugged.

"I'm not really looking for anything in particular. I just want to learn more. My name is Eira, by the way." She said.

"It's nice to meet you, Eira." Yue said, smiling politely.

"Likewise." Eira said, noticing that Aang and Katara had left to talk to Pakku. The arrogance of the man annoyed her when she watched him in the show and she doubted it would change if she talked to him in real life. Sexism wasn't something Eira could ignore easily.

o.O.o

The next morning, Eira slept in and woke up to a completely empty room. Katara and Aang had gone off to waterbending training, and Sokka had gone to warrior training.

_Well at least they have something to do that ultimately helps people._ Eira thought bitterly as she sat up, rubbing the sleep out of her eyes. If only she could do some training as well.

Eira collected her bag, staff and some food for a snack and she walked outside. Yue said that the building was close to here, but other than that Eira didn't know where it could be so she was forced to have to just wonder around.

The air was freezing but it was still pleasant to just have a look around. Waterbenders were everywhere, bending the landscape around them for simple and complicated reasons. Once again, Eira found herself wishing that she could've been a waterbender. It looked like such a creative medium.

Eira looked ahead and saw a large empty courtyard with Pakku and Aang "training" but it looked like it mainly consisted of Aang getting hit by streams of water or trying to bend it and getting shouted at by Pakku. _Fun!_ Eira thought sarcastically as she made her way up some steps and finally walked into the archive.

Unlike many other places in the Northern Water Tribe, the archive wasn't made of ice, or at least the inside wasn't. It was probably designed that way to avoid damaging the documents. It was also warm, so warm that for the first time since getting there, Eira took of her coat.

Thinking about how yesterday was Yue's sixteenth birthday, Eira remembered that she wasn't aware of how time was measured here. She knew from Teo's father that they still used seconds, minutes, hours, days and years, and probably months too, but it would be cool to know what the calendar was like for them.

Eira looked around for a while through all of the shelves and finally found a map. It looked vaguely the same as a calendar from her world but the days and months were names differently.

"So if my birthday is the 24th July, it should be around here." Eira muttered, placing a finger on a date that looked vaguely familiar. Strangely, it looked to be around the time of Sozin's comet… That was a _lovely_ coincidence.

After that, Eira just began picking out random little scrolls or pieces of paper to try and expand her knowledge of the world but it was as Yue said, almost all of it was incredibly out-dated.

Eira even found a small manual on arranged marriages.

Apparently, even though betrothal necklaces were the equivalent to wedding rings and weren't necessarily for arranged weddings, as soon as the marriage was worked out by the parents of the people being married, the soon-to-be-husband would carve a unique design in a precious stone and they would attach it to a simple choker necklace to confirm their arranged marriage.

It turned out most people with some sort of standing in a Tribe would have an arranged marriage but lower down in the ranks it would be accepted to choose anyone and not necessary.

Eira couldn't imagine having to have an arranged marriage, it'd just be… weird.

Eira thought about the invasion force led by Zhao. If this place was sexist, would they allow her to contribute to informing them? They didn't allow women to fight but would she still be allowed to help. She definitely knew a lot of information that would help.

_If they could use their waterbending to create a large, extra wall in front of the main wall, it would create extra defence and buy them more time, and maybe, I could get them to at least guard the spirit garden. Hah! I'd like to see Zhao and Zuko try and get there if there were guards posted around it._ Eira thought, smirking. _And, I'll also tell Aang about the location of the Moon and Ocean spirits __**before**__ he goes into the spirit world, that'll stop Zuko from taking him away._

Eira still couldn't exactly understand why these people revered their spirits so much but, then again, she was a bit biased when it came to her opinion on spirits. Fei Lian and Feng Yi weren't very well liked in her books and Hei Bai did practically destroy a town and kidnap a lot of people, sure it was angry about the burnt forest but it still wasn't a good thing to do.

After more planning about how to help when the invasion came, Eira decided to return to the house that they were staying in. She should probably get in at least some training into the time she had.

Eira quickly walked through the city and back to the igloo to see Aang, Katara and Sokka all moping.

"Uh, okay… What happened here?" Eira asked, placing her bag and staff down near the entrance.

Aang frowned and rolled over on the bedroll he was lying on.

"Master Poophead won't teach Katara waterbending because she's a girl." He said, clearly annoyed.

"Ah, I saw you and Master Pakku training. It didn't look fun." Eira said, walking over to her own bedroll and sleeping bag.

"All he did was shout at me and throw water in my face." Aang said miserably. "And training's not as fun without someone you know being there as well." He said, looking at Katara. Eira nodded in understanding as she sat down, then turning to Sokka.

"And, let me guess, something's up with you and Princess Yue?" Eira said.

He frowned as well.

"Yeah, wait. Eira, you're a girl. Can you try and figure out what's going on? One minute we're just talking and having a good time, and the next she's avoiding me and telling me to get lost." He asked, clearly confused.

"First off, thanks for noticing that I'm a girl." Eira said sarcastically before composing herself and becoming serious. "Sokka, Princess Yue is, well, a princess. You and her are good together as friends, or more, and she probably really likes you, but certain _things_ and customs in this tribe are probably getting in the way." Eira explained.

Sokka looked crestfallen, he really liked Yue and it was sad to see him think that they couldn't see each other.

"Any advice for us, Eira?" Katara asked half-heartedly.

"I still can't believe that Master Pakku won't teach you because you're a girl. You're a great waterbender and my first teacher." Aang said, shaking his head in disbelief.

"Why don't you teach Katara, Aang?" Sokka asked.

Katara sat up suddenly, smiling happily.

"That's actually a good idea, Sokka. At night, you can teach me whatever you learn from Master Pakku! That way, you get someone to practice with, and I get to learn waterbending! Everyone's happy!" She said excitedly.

"I'm not happy," Sokka said miserably, lying on his back.

"But you're never happy." Katara said bluntly. "Come on, Aang." She said, getting up to leave and grabbing Aang's wrist.

"Wait, Katar-and she's gone… Great…" Eira began but they both left too quickly.

"Hey, Sokka? Don't get too upset with Yue. She really _does_ like you." Eira muttered but Sokka only grunted in response as he turned on his side and went to sleep.

_Might as well get some rest. _Eira thought, concerned for Aang and Katara. Eira lay down on her bed roll and closed her eyes, drifting off into sleep.

_Eira stood in the spirit garden, the details feeling less real for some reason, as if she wasn't actually there. She looked around, confused and watched in horror as she saw Zuko firebend at Katara, blasting her backwards into a tree and knocking her unconscious. Eira tried to move and stop Zuko from taking Aang but she found herself unable to move._

_Eira could only watch as images flashed through her mind. She saw Zhao stab the moon spirit with a dagger of fire, murdering it. She saw Yue, her life being taken away as she gave up her mortal form to become the moon spirit and Eira saw the heart break in Sokka's eyes as Yue gave him one final kiss before slowly fading away._

_Then, out of nowhere, she saw the landscape swirl around her and suddenly Toph was holding up a large tower as Appa was being kidnapped by sandbenders, and then Aang entering the Avatar state in fury. _

_She saw Jet being murdered by Long Feng in the Dai Lee headquarters and worst of all, she saw a horrifying alternate ending to Sozin's comet. Azula struck Zuko with lightning and this time, he couldn't re-direct it and then she saw Azula hitting Katara with a wave of fire, killing her too. No! This didn't happen! Why was she being shown it?!_

_Sokka, Suki and Toph fell of the blimps to their deaths, the Fire Lord took Aang's life and them proceeded to completely burn down the entire Earth Kingdom. Everywhere, people were screaming and crying as their land and lives were swept up in the fiery inferno._

Eira jolted straight up as she quickly woke up. Her forehead was coated in sweat and as she looked around, she saw that Sokka, Aang and Katara were sleeping around her. Eira took a deep breath to calm herself.

Why did that happen? What possessed her mind to create that dream? _Don't worry, Eira._ She thought. _It won't happen. They will not happen. It was all just a dream. It's just a dream._

She wondered just why she she had that nightmare. She didn't usually have such vivid nightmares, not even the ones she'd had in this world were quite like that. Was it what was going to happen? Was she not only not going to save people, but make things worse as well?

Eira lay back on the bedroll and turned over on her side, listening to the gentle breathing of he three friends. _Am I going to make things worse for them? I really hope not…_

o.O.o

After a night of staring into the darkness, unable to sleep, Eira wasn't feeling great but she wasn't the only one. Sokka was miserable and unhappy about Yue, Katara was furious at Pakku and Aang was upset that he'd lost a waterbending teacher for himself and Katara.

"Guys, we're going to talk to Chief Arnook about this problem with Master Pakku. Are you two coming?" Aang asked as Katara completely ignored everyone out of anger. Eira nodded.

"It'll give me something to do and I'm always free to sort someone out." Eira said, smiling but still remembering her nightmare. Sokka just simply nodded without explanation.

"Great." Aang said as they all left and walked through the city to the main building that kind of acted like a town hall.

Chief Arnook sat in the centre of the room with Princess Yue sitting by his side, his wife sitting on his other side and Master Pakku sitting next to her.

"Master Pakku has explained to me what happened." Chief Arnook said.

"Then you know that he's not teaching Aang?" Katara asked. Arnook nodded.

"But what do you want me to do? Force Master Pakku to take Aang back as his student?" He asked, gesturing as if to symbolise that his hands were tied.

"Yes." Katara said quickly. "…please." She added.

Arnook shook his head slightly.

"I suspect he might change his mind, _if_ you swallow your pride, young lady, and apologise to him." Arnook said. Katara looked around hopelessly and Eira wanted to help but she honestly had no idea about what to say.

"Fine." She finally said, clearly annoyed at having to apologise. Pakku smirked smugly and Eira felt a twinge of annoyance. He really was an arrogant a-hole.

"I'm waiting little girl." He said as Katara clenched her fists in anger.

"No." Katara said, her anger causing the ice below them to crack. "No way am I apologising to a sour old man like you!" She yelled, pointing her finger at Pakku angrily and causing two pots of water to completely shatter.

An angry waterbender wasn't a good thing if they were standing on a floor made of ice and Eira was starting to get nervous

"Uhhh… Katara?" Aang started, his voice as nervous as they all felt.

"I'll be outside if you're man enough to fight me." Katara said as she stormed out of the room, leaving them all shocked. Yue gasped and Eira stared at the doorway in disbelief.

"I'm sure she didn't mean that." Aang quickly said, trying to excuse Katara's behaviour.

"Actually, I think she meant that more than she means a lot of things." Eira muttered as her, Sokka, Aang quickly walked out to talk to Katara.

"Are you crazy, Katara?" Sokka asked incredulously. "You're not going to win this fight!"

Katara threw her coat off and chucked it at Sokka angrily.

"I know! I don't care!" She said, storming down the stairs.

"You don't have to do this for me. I can find another teacher." Aang said, trying to get her to calm down.

"I'm not doing this for you!" Katara said. "Someone needs to slap some sense into that guy!"

"I agree, sexism is unfair and unjust." Eira said, looking behind her as Pakku began to walk down the steps and walked past Katara, completely ignoring her.

"Aren't you going to fight me?" Katara said angrily as she stared at Pakku.

Pakku simply waved her off, not even bothering to face her.

"Go back to the healing huts with the other women where you belong." Now Eira was sooo tempted to just send a little blast of air in his direction. Katara seemed to have a similar reaction but unlike Eira, she acted on her anger.

She lashed out her arm and water whipped Pakku in the head. The water fell to the ground as Pakku finally faced them, indignant. The crowd around them was completely silent in shock.

"Fine. You want to learn to fight so bad?" He asked shortly. _It's bad__**ly**__, but I really can't expect a sexist pig like you to know that._ Eira thought angrily. Pakku went into a fighting stance. "Study closely!" He said as he bent two large streams of water from the nearby pools at Katara, who fell back.

Pakku joint the two streams together in a swift motion and he encircled them around both himself and Katara in a kind of fighting ring. Katara looked at the forceful water with some fear but the fire in her eyes was incredibly strong, even still.

"Don't worry. I'm not going to hurt you!" Pakku said arrogantly but Katara steeled herself and redirected the water at Pakku. The water span out of control as Pakku managed to change its direction slightly towards the crowd. Eira quickly span her staff and protected her and Sokka from being hit by it but Eira frowned as she saw that Pakky had managed to create a wall of ice to deflect the water.

Katara slid up the wall and managed to land on a nearby post but Pakky quickly changed the ice back into water and sent it in a direct blast at her. Katara somehow managed to freeze her feet to the ground and withstand the blast and direct it away.

"You can't knock me down!" Katara said proudly. Some of the crowd (mainly the women) cheered for her and Eira couldn't help but join in.

"Go, Katara!" Aang yelled in encouragement.

Katara charged at Pakku but he drew up a wall of ice that she quickly liquefied again and sent at him. She slashed the water at Pakku but sadly he managed to duck every single one and finally used the water whip at Katara, knocking her back into the fountain, causing cheers from the other side of the crowd.

Katara emerged from the pool, surprisingly dry but her plait was forced out of its tie from the force used. She threw up her arms and summoned a small pillar of ice and sent little slices of it at Pakku. Pakku broke most of them with his wrists but he had to quickly duck to avoid one that came particularly close.

He looked irritated at Katara, probably because she was actually a good waterbender and he generated a huge stream of water and sent it, full force, at Katara. Katara was pushed back several feet and she was breathing heavily now.

She sent two large pillars of snow at him but he quickly dissipated them, turning them into mist.

"Well, I'm impressed. You _are_ an excellent waterbender." He admitted.

"But you still won't teach me, will you?" Katara asked, gritting her teeth.

"No." _WHY NOT!? SHE'S AN EXCELLENT WATERBENDER!_ Eira thought in frustration.

Katara bet forwards sharply, sending a wave of ice at Pakku but he simply raised himself up on an ice pillar. He then liquefied the pillar and charged straight at Katara, who swiftly sent a large stream of water at him but Pakku avoided the attack, freezing the stream and using it to slide across to Katara and striking her down, knocking her necklace off and sending her roughly to the ground.

Pakku landed on the rim of the fountain and manipulated the water to land over Katara and with some quick hand gestures, he completely froze the water around Katara, trapping her in between a dozen ice spears.

The crowd gasped as this seemed dangerously close to skewering her and as Katara lifted her head in shock, she struggled, trying to move or waterbend the ice but failing.

Pakku, his work done, then began to casually stroll away.

"This fight is over." He announced.

"Come back here. I'm it finished yet!" Katara yelled angrily, trying harder to break free.

"Yes. You are." He continued to walk away but then he stopped as he noticed Katara's necklace on the ground. He slowly picked it up and held it up as he stared at it in disbelief.

"This is my necklace…" He said, his voice expressing the shock and disbelief on his face.

"No, it's not. It's mine! Give it back!" Katara shouted, continuing to struggle.

"I made this sixty years ago, for the love of my live… for Kanna." He said, voice barely above a whisper. With Pakku surprised, the ice around Katara began to melt away.

"My Gran-Gran was going to marry you?" Katara said, sharing his shock and disbelief.

"I carved this necklace for your grandmother when we got engaged. I thought we would have a long, happy life together. I loved her." Pakku explained, clenching the necklace. Katara walked slowly up to the old master.

"But she didn't love you, did she? It was an arranged marriage. Gran-Gran didn't want her life dictated by you tribe's stupid customs." Katara said, figuring it out. "It must've taken a lot of courage." Katara added.

At Katara's speech, Yue began to cry as it brought her own situation into light. She glanced at Sokka quickly and began to run away.

"She needs to talk to you right now." Eira said, whispering to Sokka.

"Master Pakku, discriminating against women is denying your tribe an opportunity to expand and thrive. If you continue to go this, you'll be left behind in the past." Eira said. She glanced at Katara and smiled. "And if you teach Katara I'm sure you'll find her the best student you'd ever trained before. She's determined, strong and amazing."

Pakku looked at Katara, as if seeing her in a new light and Katara gave a small smile to Eira, mouthing _Thank you._

Change was possible, and if they could change Master Pakku's stubborn mind, why couldn't she change a few more things along the way?

* * *

**Now, will she change the finale? Will she save Yue? And will she finally get to beat Zhao and stop him from killing the moon spirit?**

**Find out in the thrilling conclusion to Book 1: Air in the two-parter chapters coming soon to an internet near you!**

**Please review! :D**


	27. Chapter 27- Prevention

**Okay, part one of the finale... I really hope you like what I do with this (though I have to admit next chapter will be the one with all of the action)**

**Thanks to everyone who has every read this story, reviewed it, followed it or favourited it, and special thanks to people who've done every single one of those things but to be honest, I appreciate every view this story gets and I never really expected to continue this for three months, and still want to write more.**

**Anyway, one more chapter to go and I promise to get it out a bit more quickly than what I've been doing lately.**

**Enough with this rambling! Please review and tell me what you think!**

**Enjoy!**

* * *

Chapter 27: Prevention

* * *

Eira was quietly reading a small scroll of old Water Tribe stories as Katara and Aang were training with Master Pakku and his other students. So far, Eira had been proven right as Katara was learning exceptionally quickly.

At the moment, Katara was sparring with a poor young man and as Eira read, she quickly ducked to the side as she dodged him, sent flying thanks to Katara. This had been happening all morning so as Eira read, it almost became like breathing to dodge the wild shots.

"Nice try, Pupil Sangok." Pakku said, displeased. "A couple more years and you might be able to fight a sea sponge." There was a gush of rushing water as Sangok was released from the ice he was encased in and Pakku looked around at his other students. "Would anyone else care for a rematch with Katara?" Pakku asked and to no one's surprise, no one volunteered.

Katara smiled proudly as Master Pakku turned to face her.

"Katara, you've advance more quickly than any student I've ever trained. You have proven that with fierce determination, passion and hard work, you can accomplish anything. Your friend was right about you."

Eira smiled, looking up slightly from the scroll. It was amazing how quickly Katara managed to learn waterbending. Eira's own bending wouldn't be nearly as impressive even if she put in as much effort.

"Pupil Aang!" Pakku said loudly, getting Aang's attention away from playing with Momo and levitating Momo on an airball. Pakku's voice stopped him airbending and Momo landed on his head, not giving him a very dignified look.

"Yes, Master Pakku?" Aang asked.

"Care to step into the sparring circle?" Pakku asked sarcastically. "I figure that since you've found time to play with house pets, you must have already mastered waterbending."

Aang jumped up using airbending and looked slightly awkward at being picked on.

"I would say _mastered_, but check this out!" Aang quickly twirled around and used waterbending to make a snowman around himself, which Momo promptly destroyed as he leaped off it, running towards Eira.

Eira looked up and saw Pakku and Katara wearing similar looks of distain as Pakku shook his head in disappointment and Katara looked very irritated at Aang. Aang smiled sheepishly as he slowly sat back down again.

"I think that's enough for today. I want all of you to practice those forms, and Aang…" Pakku began.

"Yes, Master Pakku."

"If you can defeat Katara in a spar, I might forgive you for slacking off." He said, leaving.

Aang looked at Katara nervously, but she simply smiled.

"Care to try, Aang?" She asked, getting into an offensive waterbending pose.

Aang looked around nervously at all of the tired, slightly injured students and he waved his hands wildly to say no. Katara smiled slyly and liquidised the snow around her and quickly threw it at Aang.

Aang quickly jumped out of the way and Eira looked around as the water crashed into her. Eira was thrown across the courtyard and skidded across the ice, completely drenched.

Eira frowned at them as she sat up, her scarf falling around her shoulders and the scrolls were completely ruined.

"Thanks, Katara. You have _completely_ ruined these scrolls that were in this place for over eighty years!"

Eira got up, looking sadly at the scrolls. Katara looked apologetic and quickly waterbent the water on Eira and the scrolls and they both became dry again, Katara then turned the water into a snowball and threw it at Aang, and this time it struck him in the face.

As Eira brushed herself off and picked up the scrolls she quickly grabbed her staff and span it upwards, sending a wall of snow at both Katara and Aang. In their shock, they didn't deflect it and Eira couldn't help but laugh.

"Sorry guys, but you kind of deserve it." Eira said, somewhat smugly.

They both waterbent the snow down off them and smiled sheepishly.

"Yeah, I guess so." Aang said.

"It's okay, guys. Well, I'm going to return these scrolls now, have fun." Eira said, walking off with the scrolls in her arms.

_I really hope they don't yell at me._ Eira thought, grimacing slightly. She didn't want to get told off for something that really wasn't her fault.

Eira quickly ran up the snow/ice stairs, avoiding several people just casually walking and talking and trying not to slip. It annoyed her how _everything_ was made of ice or snow. Couldn't someone just build some stair pathways? Or at least not ice.

Every time she walked by the canals, Eira always felt like she was going to fall in.

Eira walked into the archive and put the scrolls back but as she came out, she felt like she couldn't breathe properly. The black snow was falling… The Fire Nation was coming.

"Crap…" Eira whispered under her breath. "Crap!" She said again, louder. Eira quickly began to run back to the courtyard but she didn't see Aang or Katara.

"Darn it!" Eira's hair was slowly being covered by the soot and she quickly made her way up to the main stairway to the town hall/palace/important building.

Inside Chief Arnook and Master Pakku were talking and as Eira barged in, they both stared at her irritably.

"Uh, sorry for that, but I have something incredibly important to tell you. The Fire Nation is coming to attack the Northern Water Tribe and they have gathered almost their entire navy to do it." Eira said quickly.

Chief Arnook and Master Pakku's faces both held a mixture of shock and dread.

"We need to gather our citizens and prepare for war. Where is my daughter, Princess Yue?" Chief Arnook said, asking Eira.

"I'm not exactly sure but she and my friend, Sokka, recognised the soot and are coming over here soon." Eira said, trying to remember what happened with them at this point in time in the episode.

"Inform the public and gather them in the main hall!" Arnook commanded to his guards and they quickly scurried out. Arnook and Pakku made their way to leave but as Arnook passed by her, Eira held out her hand to stop him.

"Sorry, Chief Arnook but, I have some information on the attack that I could tell you after the announcement, if you wouldn't mind." Eira said, suddenly remembering of what she was thinking about helping them prepare.

A flicker of doubt flashed across his face but he nodded, apparently believing her, and walked out of the room, Eira following.

As Eira got outside, the ground was now a mix of black snoot and white snow and civilians were constantly running around in panic as two watchmen hit a drum with a Water Tribe symbol on it to warn them of the attack.

Eira saw Yue and Sokka approach, Sokka holding Yue's hand as they ran but Yue stopped and pulled her hand out of Sokka's, her face clearly upset.

They were talking and despite being out of the hearing range, Eira could tell what they were talking about.

Yue was telling Sokka that she couldn't see him anymore at all.

Yue turned around, not wanting to face Sokka and Sokka's face was the look of heartbreak and confusion.

As Eira walked up to them, Yue quickly run up the stairs into the main hall, leaving Sokka watching her leave with dismay.

"Sokka… Are you alright?" Eira asked but the look on his face told her that he definitely was _not_. Sokka didn't reply. He was just staring at the doorway as groups of people walked past them. Eira looked at him concerned but she turned away and dragged him inside the building. He wasn't going to move otherwise.

Inside was completely crowded but Eira quickly located Aang and Katara sitting in the row of the crowd. Thankfully Aang was so noticeable with his electric blue tattoos and yellow-ish clothing.

Eira quickly walked over to him and Katara, still dragging Sokka as he made no real attempt to move on his own and they both sat down in the space next to him.

Katara and Aang looked quizzically at Sokka and then to Eira, as if asking her to explain but she quickly just shook her head to say, _not now_. They understood and looked back ahead of them at Chief Arnook, Princess Yue and Master Pakku, who were sitting respectfully on the ice stage in front of them.

As everyone seemed to have settled in the room, Chief Arnook began his solemn speech.

"They day we have feared for so long has finally arrived. The Fire Nation has come to our doorstep with the hope of conquering us after these hundred long years. It is with great sadness that I call my family here before me, knowing well that some of these faces are about to vanish from our Tribe."

_But maybe not as much as you think._ Eira thought, looking at Yue with great sadness.

"But remember, you will never vanish from our hearts. You will live on in our memories. Now, as we approach the battle for our very existence, I call upon the great spirits. Spirit of the Ocean! Spirit of the Moon! Be with us!" At those chants, the crowd repeated them. They called for the spirits that Zhao was set out to kill.

"I am going to need volunteers for a dangerous mission." Arnook said, calling to the men in the room.

Sitting next to her, his eyes cold yet determined, Sokka quickly stood up, raising his hand.

"Count me in!" He said, protecting his voice.

"Sokka? What are y-" Eira began but then Arnook started talking again.

"Be warned, many of you will not return." He said as several other Water Tribe men rose and walked towards the front to bow before Chief Arnook. "Come forward to receive my mark, if you accept the task."

Eira watched as Sokka turned to Chief Arnook, not showing any emotion as Princess Yue looked at him sadly. Princess Yue then turned away slowly, not letting anyone see the single tear falling down her cheek.

As Sokka and the other men walked out, everyone felt that Arnook was finished and began to file out. Their nervous whispered filling the air and Eira was beginning the feel even more nervous ad she didn't even know how that was possible.

"Hey, Eira. You coming?" Aang asked as he and Katara began to walk out but Eira shook her head.

"No, I have to talk to Chief Arnook about something first." Eira informed.

"Okay then, bye." Aang said, walking off with Katara. Eira quickly got up and began to walk off after Sokka and the other Water Tribe men.

Chief Arnook was walking behind the group and Eira quickly caught up with him.

"Chief Arnook. The Fire Nation will begin their attack by sending fiery projectiles at your wall. Do you think it would be possible to get your waterbenders to create another wall to add a temporary block and delay them?" Eira asked, hoping they could.

Chief Arnook thought it over and nodded.

"Yes. Yes, that should work. It won't be too strong but it would give us time to prepare." He said. "Sorry, I have to go now." He said, starting to walk off.

_I hope they can do it in time._ Eira thought, running off to re-join Katara and Aang.

Aang was sitting on the wall, looking solemnly at the ocean as Katara looked at him, concerned.

"Hey guys." Eira said quietly, walking up to them.

"Hey, Eira…" Aang said quietly, at roughly the same volume as Eira, none of them truly wanting to break the silence. "Where's Chief Arnook?" He asked.

"I think he's getting some waterbenders ready to build the wall." Eira asked.

"What wall?" Katara asked.

"I suggested he build a wall to block the fiery projectiles, like the ones they threw at us back when we travelled to the Fire Temple on the winter solstice." Eira explained.

And as she said that, just like how they changed the walls to let the canal and the ocean even out, a dozen waterbenders quickly rose up out of the ocean, creating a large, thick ice wall.

"Hopefully this will work." Eira muttered. Then they did something, Eira didn't really think of. They jumped forwards and erected another wall. "That's clever. It'll be like putting a hundred doors in their faces. It'll take them an incredibly long time to break through all of them."

"And I'll break their ships before they get there." Aang said, getting up and grabbing his staff and flicking it open. He was about to jump off but he stopped, and that was when they all saw a giant fiery comet flying towards them.

It smashed into the first wall and the section it hit shattered, sending a fiery explosion into the air, causing everyone to shield their eyes from the blast.

After seeing the damage Aang quickly jumped into the air and was caught by Appa. They both flew off to face the navy ships and Katara and Eira were left watching him.

"Katara! Are you okay? I saw the explosion and I thought-" They heard Sokka yell and as they turned around they saw him running up to them. He saw the new ice walls in the ocean and looked at them, confused.

"They're the new lines of defence." Eira explained before he asked.

"Oh, okay." He said. "I'm going off to Chief Arnook's secret mission. I just wanted to tell you guys."

"Oh yeah! That reminds me, can I go with you, I'd like to talk with the people on the mission, their information is clearly out of date and I'd like to rectify that." Eira said. Sokka shrugged.

"Sure, why not. See ya' Katara." Sokka said, giving her a good-bye hug as they both started to walk off to the room.

They both rushed over to the room and found that they were a lot of Water Tribe men inside with Chief Arnook standing at the front of the crowd.

As they both filed in, Sokka stood in the crowd and Eira stood in the corner.

"Men, you'll be infiltrating the Fire Nation Navy." He announced, projecting his voice. "That means you'll all need one of _these_ uniforms." He said, gesturing to a young man who walked in wearing a red and black uniform that looked kind of like the Fire Navy uniforms but the helmet was a slightly different shape and it had stupid shoulder spikes on it.

It looked ridiculous and Eira fought back laughter but thankfully she had many years of being British and practicing her stiff upper lip (stereotypical but true). Sokka, on the other hand, hadn't.

He laughed out loud as if he'd been trying to hold it in and everyone turned to stare at him.

"What's your problem?" The young man asked angrily.

"Fire Navy uniforms don't look like that." Sokka said.

"Of course they do." The man retaliated irritably.

"No they don't." Eira commented, walking up to him. "These are very outdated designs." She looked closer at the uniform to get the details in and noted the differences.

"Yeah, when did you get these?" Sokka walked, walking up to the armour and flicking the shoulder spikes.

Arnook looked unamused.

"Eight-five years go."

"First and most important, they don't have shoulder spikes. The armour is more like plating over their chest and doesn't connect to the lower half. The shoes are darker and the helmet has red flame-like shapes on the helmet." She said, pointing to what was wrong with the armour as she spoke.

"Who is this? Why is she here?" He asked Chief Arnook.

"This is Eira, Hahn. She is the airbender and has already given us great advice that has protected our city. I value her input." Arnook said. Hahn looked annoyed at her as Arnook turned back to the other warriors.

"Now, our first objective is to determine the identity of their commanding officer." Arnook said.

"His name is Admiral Zhao. He is a middle aged firebender with grey hair and sideburns. He is incredibly prone to anger and his adviser is General Iroh, the Fire Lord's brother." Eira said. "He is very skilled at both firebending and general combat so a straight up attack is usually a bad idea."

"Eira, tell everything you know to Hahn. He's the leader of this mission. Hahn, I want you to show your respect to Eira." Arnook began to walk away before he added. "I expect nothing less from my future son in law."

Sokka stared at Hahn, mouth agape.

"Princess Yue's marrying _you_?!" Sokka asked incredulously.

"Yeah, what of it?" Hahn retorted irritably. Sokka turned away, upset.

"Nothing. Congratulations." He said, this voice completely contradictory to his words. Sokka quickly walked away to help the other men prepare the weaponry.

"So, what about this General Zhoo guy?" Hahn asked, clearly not wanting to listen to Eira. Eira felt the same but she instead didn't want to talk to him. He was a selfish pig who couldn't see Yue as anything more than the Chief's daughter and a beautiful woman.

"He's called _Admiral Zhao._ He's leading the charge and he's organising the entire attack. He won't attack at night because of the waterbending advantage with the moon but he won't stop attacking until he's breached the walls." Eira said, crossing her arms irritably. "Also, as I mentioned a straight up attack on him won't work for _many_ reasons. So charging at him for a fight isn't a good idea."

Hahn simply huffed.

"Yeah, yeah. Whatever." He said, looking completely disinterested.

"Excuse me, but this is impor-"

"Listen, whatever-your-name-was, I don't care. You're not a great warrior like me so your advice is useless to us. Just go back to cooking or whatever girls are good at." Hahn said, his arrogance rolling off in waves.

Eira clenched her fists angrily.

"Well, unlike _you_, I'm trying to protect your fiancé and your home!" Eira snarled. "Princess Yue's life is at risk with this attack and I know for a fact that the Fire Nation will kill whoever's in charge and all of the waterbenders if they manage to get into the city.". She twisted her foot quickly and a small slash of air threw him off his balance and he fell to the floor.

"Sorry." She apologised, despite not really feeling sorry. Hahn sulked, getting up and adjusted the out-of-date Fire Navy uniform.

"You're going to regret that." He muttered under his breath but Eira frowned. His attitude was incredibly frustrating.

"_Dw i ddim yn meddwl bydda i._" Eira hissed. Hahn flinched at the words and Eira felt the same kind of satisfaction she got from annoying Zhao. She loved knowing a different language to everyone. _If I spoke a bit of French or German, would I get the same result? Too bad I'm not very good at French or German._ Eira thought. There was such little diversity in language here, it felt very odd.

Eira spent the day trying to get it into Hahn's thick skull that an attack wouldn't work and how to stealthily get the job done but he just wouldn't listen. Eira recounted all of the information that she'd thought up but she wasn't sure how much of it Hahn actually listened to.

She was starting to feel even sorrier for Yue if _this_ was the person she was supposed to marry.

After a while, Hahn had had enough and walked off to sharpen the weapons with the other warriors and Eira quickly walked up to a guard, relieved to stop talking to Hahn. Her brain cells would never recover properly.

"Sorry, but you know the spiritual garden here?" Eira asked. The guard nodded. "Do you think you could tell me where it is?"

"It's near the palace, to the side. There's a small, blue circular door and that leads to the garden… Why?" He asked, slightly nervous.

"Just curious if it would be accessible from outside the city." Eira explained. The guard suddenly tensed. _I'm going to take that as a yes… And that means I'll need to take my leave soon._

Just as Eira was about to leave, she heard Sokka yell and tackle Hahn.

"Sokka!" Eira exclaimed, running over to him as he rolled over Hahn and tried to punch him in the face.

"You're just a jerk without a soul, _no offense_!" Sokka yelled angrily.

Eira pulled at Sokka's hood and yanked him off as Arnook did the same to Hahn. Sokka was seething in anger as he stared at Hahn. Part of his ponytail had been pulled out of place and his clothing was crumbled from the fight.

"Sokka, you're off the mission." Arnook said bluntly, leaving Sokka looking stunned before he quickly recovered himself and crossed his arms in anger.

Hahn also composed himself but he replaced his anger with smug arrogance.

"All right, fall in men!" He commanded as Eira scowled at him. "Everybody listen to what I say and we'll take out this admiral Chō in no time!"

"It's admiral _Zhao_!" Sokka said, waving his arms in frustration. Eira clenched her fists again, trying to contain her anger. She needed some help containing her anger, lately she's just been lashing out with airbending at any jerk she'd come across. Maybe Sokka was right and she did need to calm down.

"I'm going to sharpen my boomerang." Sokka said angrily, storming off to the weapons corner or whatever it was.

Eira knew it wasn't really her place to comfort him. She was too pissed off to be able to do it properly.

Eira walked out, she needed to see if they were all okay in the spirit garden. The atmosphere was tense, the night was dark and she saw the damage the fireballs had done. Apparently a couple had managed to get past the walls. Eira could guess from the large dents in the ice.

No one was outside except for a couple of groups of warriors so it made the previously beautiful city look almost haunting and empty. The moonlight reflected off the ice and it looked beautiful but in this context, it looked creepy.

Eira walked around to the palace and she looked around in the location the guard talked about and quickly spotted the circular wooden door. It was quite a pretty door as it was painted blue with the Water Tribe's emblem on it and as Eira gingerly opened it, slightly afraid that she wasn't allowed to go in and someone was going to tell her off.

Eira opened it all of the way and was very surprised to feel the blast of warm air hit her, it was comforting after nothing but the freezing cold of the North Pole for a couple of days.

Eira stepped inside the doorway and gasped as she saw the place. The garden was lined with tall icebergs but Eira felt no cold from them. In the centre of the room was a small oasis in the lake with three tall waterfalls falling into it and there was a pond in the centre of the oasis with two koi fish swirling around in it. Tui and La, they were safe. But then she saw something that took all of the heat from her body away again.

Katara was lying unconscious in the centre of the oasis, where Aang should've been sitting. She was too late! The plan had been to tell Aang about Tui and La's mortal forms so he _didn't_ have to go into the Spirit World!

Eira quickly ran over to Katara and knelt next to her, trying to sit Katara up.

"Katara! Wake up!" Eira said urgently. "Please, just wake up!" Katara's eyes flickered open for a second and then she inhaled sharply and snapped them open.

"Aang! I lost him." She said, then she turned to see Eira and her expression turned confused.

"Eira? What are you-" She began but that was when Appa began to fly down from the sky, Sokka and Yue sitting on his saddle.

"What happened? Yue told me about Zuko and I was worried." Sokka said, jumping off Appa and helping Yue climb off the saddle.

"He took Aang." Katara explained, dismayed. "He took him right out from under me."

Eira quickly stood up and looked up at the ice formations around them.

"It's not your fault, Katara. This is mine. I should've come here earlier." Eira said, kicking at the ground in frustration. "We all need to find Aang. I can make an educated guess and say that he's with Zuko and Zuko escaped by climbing up to the top." Eira said, pointing up to the top of the ice formations.

"If we leave now, we should be able to find them before they get too far." Eira said.

"But why are you-" Sokka began but Eira cut him off.

"We need to leave now. If we go we can get back here before the trouble starts." Eira said, hurrying them all onto Appa.

"Eira! What trouble?" Katara asked, clearly annoyed and confused. Eira looked down at the koi fish circling each other in the pond.

"We need to get back before Zhao gets here. He wants to get the Ocean and Moon spirits... and kill them. So all the waterbenders will lose their power." Eira explained solemnly. Their faces were all shocked and horrified, Yue's especially.

"But, the chaos that would create. How could anyone even think of that?" She whispered, not understanding how evil the Fire Nation and Zhao could be.

"That man isn't well. He's sick in the head. Now come on, we need to go find Aang before he gets here." Eira said, helping Yue up onto Appa and jumping up after her.

Sokka and Katara both climbed on and Eira took the reigns. After making sure that everyone was okay, Eira flicked the reigns.

"Appa, yip yip!" She yelled and Appa quickly slammed his tail into the ground and flew off. Eira glanced back at everyone and Yue was looking bad. The shock of what Zhao was planning to do was deadly for her and she knew it. She just couldn't believe it.

"Yue... It's going to be fine. I'll make sure that the Moon spirit isn't killed... I'll protect you." Eira said, turning back to look in front of her at the cold icy tundra appearing before her.

_Aang, where are you?_

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**Okay... Now I'm scared of how I'm going to play this out.**

**Read the next chapter to find out! ;D**

**Please review and tell me what you think!**


	28. Chapter 28- Forging a New Future

**No real introductions this time, I just hope you like this new chapter but please read the note at the end.**

**Please tell me what you think and review!**

* * *

Chapter 28: Forging a New Future

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Eira looked back at the oasis worriedly, the ying-yang koi fish still circling around each other in their eternal dance. The oasis became smaller and smaller as Appa flew up further into the sky, practically skimming the water of the waterfall as he flew over the ice formations. Eira looked back and saw the ocean with the fleet of Fire Navy still throwing fiery projectiles at the Northern Water Tribe.

Small spits of fire and splashes of water shined in the darkness as waterbenders and firebenders fought in the distance.

People were fighting and people were probably being hurt and possibly dying. It was weird to think that people could be dying down there, death was shown in the show with Jet and it was implied in other situations but it never felt like it really happened.

It was hard to believe that it was only a couple of weeks ago that she was going to R.E lessons, playing basketball with her friends, listening to her sister's hyperactive rants.

She remembered her own two koi fish, Yasu and Akira. A simpler world where a koi fish was a koi fish, not a bloody spirit that controlled the moon or ocean.

Not an elephant-koi, not a rabbit-koi. Eira was both accepting of this world and the crazy experiences that she'd experienced but, she also just wished that she didn't have to be here and wasn't being constantly targeted or that she had to constantly try and stop people trying to capture or murder her or her friends. She belonged back in her world. Not in this world.

Even if Katara, Sokka and Aang accepted her, they still knew that she was different. From her voice, to her appearance, to her skills, to her knowledge.

Eira grasped the reigns, her knuckles turning white from the cold and from how hard she was holding on. Her blue eyes were narrowed as she scanned the white snowy tundra.

"I can't believe I lost him…" Katara muttered from the saddle.

"You did everything you did. Now all we need to do is find him." Sokka said, rubbing Katara's shoulder reassuringly.

Eira frowned. _At night, in a blizzard… Not much hope. Maybe I should've stayed with Momo to look after the spirits, but then again, I wouldn't have had a lot to do and I doubt I could've faced all of those trained firebenders at once._ Eira thought as she looked around. Zuko would be walking around, trying to find some shelter, wouldn't he?

Eira saw a large snow cloud in the corner of her vision and directed Appa to fly towards it. The cold and wind was cutting through her coat painfully. If only she had a resistance to temperature like how firebenders could deal with heat and waterbenders could deal with the cold.

Behind her, Sokka, Katara and Yue were looking over the saddle at the snowy terrain as they tried to find a glance of Aang and/or Zuko.

As Appa sailed around towards the dust cloud but Eira couldn't see a thing.

"Darn it." Eira muttered under her breath as she moved the reigns again in roughly the direction of what she thought Zuko went in. She remembered that he caused a large breaking in the ice around the area he took shelter in, so if she saw a large disturbed area of ice she'd find them.

"Don't worry, Prince Zuko can't be getting too far in this weather." Yue said, breaking the tense silence.

"I'm not really worried they'll get away in the blizzard… I'm worried they won't." Katara said, turning away to stare at the vast emptiness of snow and ice. The hopelessness in her voice was awful to listen to.

"They're not going to die." Sokka said confidently. "If there's one thing we know about Zuko is that he _never_ gives up, even if we want him to. They'll survive, and we'll find them. "

As they continued their search, Eira became increasingly aware of how high the full moon was rising. If only the show showed a better passage of time because as in every situation she'd experienced in weeks she had no real idea of when something would start, finish or need to be done by. The timescale would constantly throw her off. Sure she knew a lot about what to do whilst it was all happening but it would've been good to also know about things that happened in between scenes.

Appa flew around a bit more and then, in the dark sky, a bright blue light flashing in the sky and then flying to the ground. As Eira scanned the area when she finally saw something. A massive group of cracks in the ice and the terrain had a lot of snow dunes… perfect! Aang was there.

"Look, that's gotta be Aang!" Katara shouted pointing to the area where the light had dissipated.

"Appa, yip yip!" Eira yelled above the wind, trying to direct the reigns in the direction of the ice.

They all landed quickly and Eira jumped off just before they did, impatiently.

"Aang!" She yelled, trying to be heard above the blizzard. "They'll be in a small cavern of some sorts around here." Eira said, informing the others as they got off Appa.

Sokka, Katara and Yue landed hard onto the ground, their feet plunging into the snow, and they all started to look around.

Then she saw Zuko in front of her, holding Aang menacingly.

"That won't be enough to escape." Zuko growled angrily.

"But maybe this will!" Eira yelled, running over to him and quickly lashing at Zuko with her staff. A small slash of air forced Zuko backwards into the snow and forced him to drop Aang.

"Aang, are you okay?" Katara asked as she, Sokka and Yue ran up to Aang.

Zuko slowly staggered back up to his feet and took a firebending stance. Eira and Sokka quickly began to untie Aang as Katara took a waterbending stance at Zuko.

"Care for a rematch?" Zuko asked, trying to sound tough despite the fact he was asking an angry waterbender to a rematch, when there was a full moon, in the middle of the night, in a blizzard… SURROUNDED BY SNOW! That's practically suicidal!

"Trust me, Zuko. It's not going to be much of a rematch!" Katara retorted, swiftly moving her arms and covering Zuko with a pile of snow forcefully, knocking him unconscious.

"This is some quality rope." Sokka commented as Eira undid the knot on Aang's bindings and passed the rope to Sokka, freeing Aang to jump up, stretching his arms.

"Not really the time, Sokka." Eira muttered, standing up and gripping her staff. "We need to take Zuko with us." She announced, walking over to him.

Sokka looked shocked and incredulous.

"What!? You're going to bring the guy who constantly tries to kill us?" He asked as Eira picked Zuko up.

"We can't leave him out here, he'll die. Do you really want to argue here? We don't have a lot of time." Eira said, leaving no chance for argument as she jumped up onto Appa, using her airbending to throw Zuko onto the saddle.

Sokka helped Yue up onto Appa and Aang and Katara quickly climbed up, Aang taking the reins this time.

Sokka, through begrudgingly, took the "quality rope" and quickly went to tie Zuko up, using some special knots that were apparently practically impossible to undo, though Eira was slightly sceptical.

"We need to get to the oasis as fast as possible." Eira said as Aang flicked the reigns and they shot off into the sky, the blizzard bombarding them as Appa flew.

But then, before they got to the opening to the oasis, Eira's worst fear was coming true. The moon had turned red, as if it were a lunar eclipse.

"Oh no…" Eira gasped. Katara, Yue and Aang began to clutch their heads, as if in pain, Yue reacting the worst. She looked as if she couldn't stand it.

"Yue, are you okay?" Sokka asked, concern expressive in his face and voice.

"I… feel faint." She whispered through the pain.

"I feel it too… The Moon spirit is in trouble." Aang said, looking up at the red moon and holding his head with one hand.

"No, no, no, no, no, no, no!" Eira stuttered. "We were supposed to get back before this happens!"

"What do you mean?" Sokka asked. Eira ignored him and quickly moved over to Appa's head.

"Aang, get us to the oasis as fast as possible!" She ordered urgently. Sensing the urgency in her voice, Aang flicked the reigns and Appa flew off faster.

Yue looked up sadly at the moon.

"I owe the Moon spirit my life, and now it's in danger…" Yue said, still staring at the moon.

"Wait, what do you mean?" Sokka asked, confused.

"When I was born, I was very weak. I didn't move, I didn't cry. I was born as if I was asleep, my eyes closed. Our healers did everything they could to try and heal me, to get me to wake up, but they couldn't do anything. They told my mother and father I was going to die." Yue explained, her tone sad and slightly monotonous.

"My father pleaded with the spirits to save me and that night, under the full moon, my father brought me to the oasis and placed me in the pond. The spirits saved me. My dark hair turned white and I finally opened my eyes and began to cry, then they knew I would live and that's why my mother called me Yue, for the moon…"

They all sat in silence as they all processed this. Eira's hope for success faltering as she looked up at the blood red moon. Who knew something like a lunar eclipse could cause so much dread?

Eira used to love watching things like lunar and solar eclipses, watching the stars and seeing the changes in the sky, but in this world they affected people greatly. The lunar and solar eclipses caused entire skills to disappear for a short time. There were spirits, spirits that didn't exist in her world.

She refused to listen to her friends when they rambled on about superstitious and things like spirits but now, in this world, it was all so real… Impending death and the destruction of an entire nation did seem to make Eira think a lot more about, well, things.

Appa sailed down, out of the blizzard and into the oasis. Beneath them, Zhao and his firebenders were gloating and the sight of the brown, squirming bag in Zhao's hand sent Eira's blood boiling. He didn't know what was about to happen.

"I… am a legend, now!" Zhao's voice echoed throughout the oasis. "The Fire Nation, for generations, tell stories about the great Zhao, who darkened the moon. They will call me, Zhao the Conqueror, Zhao the Moon slayer, Zhao the Invincible!"

Eira quickly jumped off Appa and landed on the other side of the pond, using her airbending to soften her landing, her blue eyes cold and full of hate as she looked at Zhao.

"Zhao the Forgotten… Zhao, if you do this, you won't be remembered. The spirits are vengeful, there is no way you'll survive if you kill one." Eira said, her voice steady and cleared of emotion.

Zhao and his soldiers quickly tensed and as Aang, Katara and Sokka readied themselves to fight. Zhao's face was contorted in anger and in self-satisfaction.

"Don't bother." Zhao growled, raising a fist next to the bag he held in his other hand, clearly threatening to kill Tui, or maybe La. Eira forgot which one was the Moon spirit.

Eira gritted her teeth in fury. She hadn't stopped a thing!

"Zhao, don't do this!" Aang said, his stance peaceful but clearly worried. Zhao's fist didn't move an inch.

"It's my destiny, to destroy the moon, and the Water Tribe." Zhao snarled. Angry at Aang's _incredulous_ decision to try and stop him from causing the world to go completely out of balance.

"Destroying the moon won't hurt just the Water Tribes." Aang said slowly, not moving out of fear.

"It will hurt everyone, including you."

"If you destroy the moon, you will cause chaos on an unspeakable scale. People could die and if you kill the Moon spirit, you will not live to be remembered." Eira explained, using the same slow tone as Aang. That spirit would not die.

"She is right, Zhao." It was Iroh's voice. Eira didn't turn her head as she refused to take her eyes of the bag but she recognised his voice.

Zhao turned calmly to see Iroh in the entrance of the oasis.

"General Iroh, why am I not surprised to discover your treachery?" Zhao asked calmly.

"I'm not traitor, Zhao. The Fire Nation need the moon too; we all depend on the balance it gives us." Iroh's voice then quickly became forceful and angry as he took an offensive firebending pose. "Whatever you do to that spirit, I'll unleash on you ten-fold. Let it go, now!"

Iroh's words seemed to have an effect on Zhao and after a moment of hesitation, Zhao gently and slowly released the Moon spirit into the pond again but Eira saw him tense, as if he was going to make another move and, quickly, without hesitation, Eira jumped across the pond and slammed her staff into Zhao, using her airbending to send him flying. He clearly didn't expect that.

The moon in the sky brightened again and Eira was relieved that Tui, or La, hadn't been killed as she held her staff up, taking a deep breath before focussing.

"Don't. Touch. That. Spirit!" Eira roared, becoming increasingly angry.

Zhao got up quickly and the surrounding firebenders around Zhao began to fight but Iroh, Katara, Aang and Sokka fought them, stopping them from attacking anyone.

Zhao recovered quickly and sent a gigantic wave of fire at Eira but she span her staff around, creating a large spiral of air, dispersing the fire. Zhao's face was bright red and even angrier than ever and that was saying something.

"I am destined to kill a spirit… And if I can't kill one, I'll settle for another!" Zhao roared in frustration and sent more fire at Eira. _Another spirit? What the hell is he talking about?!_ Eira thought, her confusion stopping her for a moment and in her confusion, she barely managed to avoid the attack.

Eira's eyes darted to a pile of rope on the floor and made note in her mind. _Zuko was already gone._ Eira quickly made a plan in her mind. Zhao was seemingly intent of killing her, she needed to get outside.

Eira span around and created a slash of air with her staff, temporarily stunning Zhao and using his confusion, Eira sprinted across the oasis and outside.

Sensing heat behind her, Eira quickly jumped and saw a fireball pass under her. She ran out onto an ice bridge and stopped as she saw Zuko, he stared behind Eira and saw Zhao.

Eira quickly turned back towards Zhao and saw him staring at Zuko in disbelief.

"You're alive?"

Zuko then quickly attacked Zhao, forcing him to deflect and step back.

"You tried to have me killed!" He shouted angrily, his fury coming out in his firebending.

Eira, after recovering, then joined into the fight. She blasted Zhao back with airbending, he managed to deflect it but Zuko followed up with fire forcing him to lose his balance.

Zhao sent more fire at them but Eira jumped up and Zuko span to the side, avoiding it. Zhao was clearly getting sloppier as he became angrier.

Eira sent more blasts of air at Zhao as Zuko sent fire blasts at him and it looked quite cool as the air managed to enhance the flames and as it shot at Zhao, he got hit and sent flying back. Zhao growled but they all stopped as the water around them started to glow.

"What the…" Eira gasped as she looked around at the water below the bridge. Why was this happening?

Zhao, Zuko and Eira were completely still in shock as they all watched a giant spirit koi fish monster wade through the water.

"What is this?!" Zhao spat, his confusion apparent as Eira stared at the monster. It looked like the deus ex fish spirit from the finale, but it looked different. A large white full moon shape glowed in the centre of its chest and it combined with the light of the moon. Was this Tui, La and Aang all together? Was that possible!?

The spirit waded towards the bridge and it's giant fin slammed down on Zhao and in the shock, Zuko and Eira scrambled back.

"_Beth y uffern!?_" Eira shouted as she watched the spirit's fin wrapping around Zhao and for once, Zhao looked scared.

Eira just watched; a stone statue bolted to the floor. Zuko rushed forwards, recovering faster than Eira. He stretched his hand out to Zhao and for a second, Zhao considered it, party reaching out of Zuko's hand but his face hardened and he retracted his hand.

The fish pulled Zhao away and down into the water, leaving no trace of him as the water's glow faded and the fish melted into the canals.

Eira couldn't move. She was stuck. What she'd just seen had barely registered in her mind. What happened?

Zuko ran away and Eira still didn't move.

A giant spirit koi fish had just killed Zhao right in front of her. And the worst thing was, she didn't feel any guilt. She felt… empty. She felt nothing. Was that bad? A man was killed right in front of her and she felt nothing.

It felt like hours until Eira moved finally, even though it was probably only a couple of minutes or maybe even less.

Eira walked slowly down the Northern Water Tribe and walked over to the spirit oasis. Thankfully, Katara, Sokka and Aang were there and so was Yue!

"Yue! You're still here!" Eira said, running up and hugging the princess happily. Yue looked slightly awkward but Eira didn't really care. She managed to save her. Eira saved Yue and the Moon spirit!

"Yes. I'm alright, Eira. Thank you so much." Yue said, her voice was polite and restrained but Eira could hear the happiness behind her voice. Maybe she knew how close she had been to death, maybe not.

Sokka looked overjoyed, his joyful grin widening from behind Yue.

Eira release Yue from her hug and smiled at Aang and Katara.

"You guys okay?" Eira asked. They nodded. The air was filled with relief and it felt calm, a nice change after all of the stress.

"Yeah, but I'm ready for a gooood nap." Aang said, stretching his arms out. Eira chuckled.

"Yeah, I think we all deserve it, especially you, _Avatar_ Aang." Eira said. Sokka nodded.

"They crazy spirit fish thing looked really cool." He said. _Cool and kind of scary…_

o.O.o

Eira was walking through the city, watching all of the waterbenders quickly rebuilding their homes, streets and other buildings from the attack and, for once, Eira could see why they built _everything_ out of snow and ice. It defiantly quickened any rebuilding.

As Eira made her way up some stairs, she saw Master Pakku and Katara talking peacefully, both their expressions calm and happy. It was nice to see it after all of the animosity they shared when they first met.

Eira quickly walked by, waving to Katara casually as she passed then, sneakily catching a bit of their conversation.

"Well, then he better get used to calling you _Master_ Katara." Eira smiled, this would mean so much to Katara. Now she's classified as better than Aang. That was awesome.

Eira continued to walk across the pathway and saw Sokka and Yue. They looked like they were having a private moment as they were both looking quite sad, yet happy at the same time, so Eira quickly turned around and briskly walked off.

She was walking past a lot of private moments, what next? Eira looked back slightly in the direction of Yue and Sokka as she walked, incredibly curious about what they were talking about. Yue didn't survive at this point in the show so Eira truly had no idea about what they could be talking about… probably their relationship. Hahn probably died in the attack, knowing his incompetence, but how would Yue and Sokka maintain contact, and what about Suki?

Eira kept walking until she bumped into someone, the speed at which she was walking forcing them both to the ground. Eira winced in pain slightly but as she looked at who she had bumped into, she smiled.

"Aang! Oh, uh, Sorry 'bout that." She said, quickly apologising as she stood up and helped him do the same. Aang beamed up at her.

"Katara's going to be my master now! Isn't that great? It'll be soooo much more fun now!" He said, the excitement radiating off of him in waves. It was really sweet to see. Eira loved Kataang.

"That's amazing, but what are we going to do now?" Eira asked, confused at what they were going to do.

"Well, Master Pakku and some other waterbenders are travelling by boat to the Southern Water Tribe and Katara said that they'd drop us off at an Earth kingdom general's base on the way." He grinned again. "That should be easy, right? Then we can just go to Omashu so I can learn from King Bumi."

"Don't say it'll be easy. You'll probably just jinx it." Eira joked, chuckling to herself. _Easy… right. It's never that simple, is it?_

Eira and Aang looked at the sun reflecting off the ocean in silence. It was nice to just think in peace. For once, Eira didn't feel like the weight of a truck was resting on her shoulders. Now that she thought about it, Aang was probably thinking the same thing. The _world_ rested on his shoulders, like Atlas the titan from Greek mythology (except, that was really the sky but the comparison still stands).

Eira just found it so incredible how Aang could go around with such an easy and carefree smile. She respected him so much because he could do that. He was an incredible person.

As Eira stared out at the ocean, Aang turned around and smiled even wider. Eira did the same and saw Katara standing behind them.

Aang walked up to her and after a moment of looking into each other's eyes, smiling, they hugged. Eira smiled, resting on her elbows as she leant again the wall of the bridge.

Momo chirped happily as he looked at the two humans, cocking his head to the side, almost as if in confusion or pleading.

"You too, Momo." Katara said cheerfully.

"Come here." Aang said, holding his arm out for Momo to jump on. Momo leapt onto Aang's arm and crawled up to his shoulder where he settles. Behind Aang, Sokka approached and place a hand on his shoulder, just like an older brother.

Eira walked over to all of them and forced them all into a group hug.

"You guys are so amazing." Eira said. She was so happy to have such amazing friends, their journey was a third complete and Eira knew there were so many adventures, strange encounters and near-death experiences to come. Life wasn't going to be exactly normal or even comfortable in the upcoming months, but Eira was looking forward to it. She'd be with her friends, who cares what they have to go through as long as they go through it together.

* * *

**Okay, this was the last chapter of Book 1... OH MY GOSH! I MANAGED TO GET THIS FAR! IN ONLY 3 MONTHS AS WELL!**

**But I never would have managed to do this without all of you guys.**

**The reviews, follows and favourites are so awesome and I hope you'll stay with me for Book 2 which will be arriving soon.**


	29. Chapter 29- Recognition

**This chapter is just some recognition to those who supported me.**

**I want to thank my sister for reading this and constantly nagging me to continue writing, she's the main reason these get out at the speed they do. (Trust me, they'd be coming out 1 chapter/per year if it wasn't for her) Thanks so much! :D**

**I'd like to thank the following people who followed:**

**Akane Raikou**

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**And those who favourited:**

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Thanks and I hope you like Book 2! :D


	30. Update

Posted the next chapter on Book 2:Changes.

I really hope you like it.


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